Women entrepreneurs facing discrimination in getting bank loans
That women entrepreneurs still have to face many hindrances in getting SME loans from banks is quite disheartening. Many women entrepreneurs have vented their frustrations about the discrimination they face in getting bank loans, in a recently held roundtable at The Daily Star. Many of them alleged that when they applied for a loan, the lenders wanted to know the identity of their husbands, which is disgraceful. What is more, many banks said that they did not provide SME loans to female entrepreneurs. Such discrimination against women entrepreneurs are a violation of the Bangladesh Bank's guidelines related to SME loan disbursement.
The discrimination is so high that even if some banks give loans, they do not offer a grace period of three to six months to women entrepreneurs. Some banks even ask women to manage a first-class government official as a guarantor to secure SME loans. Although the central bank has instructed all banks to give out Tk 25 lakh in SME loans to women entrepreneurs without any collateral, this has hardly been followed by them.
It is simply not understandable why banks are not willing to give loans to women entrepreneurs despite the fact that loan repayment rate of women entrepreneurs is almost 95 percent. Between January and June this year, banks and non-bank financial institutions disbursed Tk 79,984 crore in SME loans, of which only 7.35 percent was given out to female entrepreneurs.
Under the circumstances, the Bangladesh Bank should give fresh directives to the banks regarding the issue. Action should be taken against those who have not been complying with the BB guidelines about SME loan disbursement. At the same time, there should be a mechanism in place so that women entrepreneurs can file complaints if and when they face such discrimination.
Comments