Loan rescheduling policy relaxed for rawhide traders

The Bangladesh Bank has today relaxed the loan rescheduling policy for rawhide traders so that they can manage funds from banks smoothly to purchase skin of sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha.

The merchants will be allowed to reschedule the loans, which were taken last year to purchase rawhide, by paying only three per cent down payment.

Many rawhide traders failed to pay back the loans due to the adversity stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Bangladesh Bank notice.

On top of that, the rawhide industry has been facing different problems for years, giving a fatal blow to the businesses to repay the loans.

The merchants will be able to enjoy a repayment tenure of three years to pay back the rescheduled loans.

But, they have to put collaterals against the rescheduled loans.

Along with lands, the unsold rawhides of last year can be also placed as collaterals.

Banks will have to give out new loans to the merchants after rescheduling the default ones.

The rawhide traders will enjoy the relaxed policy until August 31.

Four state-owned commercial banks – Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali – chiefly disburse the major portion of loans among lenders.

They collectively set a loan disbursement target of Tk 326 crore this year in contrast to Tk 525 crore last year.