Probashi Kallyan Bank: Migration loan sees brisk growth

The overall loan disbursement of Probashi Kallyan Bank has seen a significant increase from 2021-2022 fiscal after it opened at least 37 new branches across the country since mid-2020.

The majority of the amount was disbursed in "migration loan", which is collateral-free and given at a nine percent interest rate.

According to the bank's annual report for 2021-2022, in that fiscal the bank disbursed Tk 900.22 crore in loan among 39,225 people.

Of the amount, Tk 668.22 crore was disbursed in migration loan among 30,921 people.

In the previous fiscal, the overall loan disbursement was Tk 267.96 crore among 11,532 people, shows the report.

In the first half of the current fiscal, the bank disbursed Tk 367.98 crore in loan among 17,023 people, according to a report of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), which cites the bank's data.

According to the bank's annual report for 2021-2022, in that fiscal the bank disbursed Tk 900.22 crore in loan among 39,225 people. Of the amount, Tk 668.22 crore was disbursed in migration loan among 30,921 people.

Of the amount, Tk 294.01 crore was disbursed in migration loan among 14,366 people, the RMMRU report says.

However, the migration loan was disbursed against the backdrop that aspirant migrants in Bangladesh spend much higher than the government-fixed cost to finance their migration abroad.

Officials at the bank's head office and branch offices said alongside launching new branches, increased publicity also helped them reach more migrant workers.

They said, to reach migrant workers, they ran campaigns at local-level such as Technical Training Centres (TTCs) where aspirant migrants undergo training and District Manpower and Employment Offices (DEMOs) where they come for various services.

There was also publicity on Facebook and YouTube that resulted in migrant workers knowing more about the bank's services, they added.

Ferdous Khair, an assistant general manager and zonal head of the bank's Chattogram zone, said they reached migrant workers at TTCs and DEMOs on a regular basis.

"Now, migrant workers are gradually knowing about the bank's services," he told this newspaper over the phone recently.

He said in future they want to introduce online service for loan application submission.

The Probashi Kallyan Bank was launched by the government in 2011 to ensure various banking services among outgoing and returnee migrant workers.

At present, it offers at least eight loan schemes, half of those is to support economic reintegration of returnee migrants, according to its website.

These are "migration loan", "rehabilitation loan", "Bangabandhu Obhibashi Brihot Poribar loan", "special rehabilitation loan", "self-employment loan", "women migration loan", "woman rehabilitation loan", and "general loan".

These loans are provided at interest rates ranging from four to nine percent.

Since its inception till June 2022, the bank disbursed Tk 1,683.82 crore in loan among 93,541 people. Of the amount, Tk 1,323.72 crore was in migration loan among 80,243 people.

It opened 20 new branches in 2020-2021 and another 17 in 2021-2022, taking the number of total branches to 100 from the previous 63, says the bank's latest annual report.

At present, the bank has 102 branches all over the country, as per its website.

An official at the bank's head office recently said 18 more new branches were expected to be inaugurated by the end of the current fiscal year.

According to the "Cost of Migration Survey-2020" of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), migrant workers spend Tk 4.17 lakh on an average to migrate abroad.

It says only 3.7 percent of those who borrow money to finance their migration cost take bank loan.

The main sources of borrowing money are friends or relatives (41.5 percent), family members (28.2 percent), NGOs (20.5 percent), and local money lenders (15.3 percent), it adds.

The government-fixed maximum migration cost for a male worker is Tk 1.66 lakh.

On the other hand, Probashi Kallyan Bank provides migration loan in seven workdays after receiving application and necessary documents, as per the loan policy.

An aspirant migrant can get maximum Tk 3 lakh under the scheme which is repayable in maximum three years in monthly installments after a two-month grace period.

To secure the loan, aspirant migrants need to submit documents like copies of passport, visa, and "smartcard". Copy of a job contract paper is necessary but not mandatory.

Also, aspirant migrants need to ensure two guarantors, one of them will be responsible for loan repayment. In case of default, the bank can take measure as per law.