BB orders banks to ensure full CSR spending on health

The central bank has instructed banks to ensure the full and proper spending for the health sector under their corporate social responsibility initiatives amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.

According to the existing rules, the health sector accounts for 60 per cent of the allocation of the CSR budget of banks, followed by the education sector at 30 per cent and climate change risk mitigation efforts at 10 per cent.

Under the present circumstances, the 60 per cent spending for the health sector has to be ensured, the BB said in a notice on Tuesday.      

Initiating various measures in the health sector has become inevitable to help it overcome the current crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus, it said.

The BB advised banks to carry on regular activities in the health sector and extend cooperation by donating important medical equipment such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines, ventilators and oxygen cylinders as well as personal protective gears for health professionals.

Steps have to be taken to extend this cooperation to the district level, the central bank said.