BB promises to reduce hassles of borrowers in garment sector
Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman yesterday assured garment makers of forming a panel to settle disputes over inland bill purchase (IBP).
Rahman gave the assurance as many banks are not accepting such bills in granting loans to the businesses following scams by some garment makers.
The newly elected leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, led by its President Atiqul Islam, met the governor at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka.
The IBP is a credit facility through which a bank gives guarantee to its clients in purchasing goods and services from the local market for export purposes.
The committee will check whether the IBPs are acceptable, AFM Asaduzzaman, a general manager of the BB, told The Daily Star after the meeting.
The central bank in July last year cut the authority of banks of accepting IBPs as the banking regulator detected irregularities in disbursing loans against letters of credit.
SM Moniruzzaman, an executive director of the BB, will head the committee, while two vice-presidents of the BGMEA will act as members.
However, the central bank did not say when the committee will be formed.
Since the scams were unearthed last year, the garment makers have been persuading the central bank to ease the conditions of IBP acceptance.
“Everyday I hear complaints from my members that the banks are not accepting their IBPs. We need a solution,” the BGMEA president told reporters after the meeting.
Islam also said banks should not harass the real businesses.
Currently, the number of "sick factories" in the garment sector is 270. “We don't want the number to rise further,” he said.
The apparel makers also urged political leaders to keep the goods-laden trucks and vans of the sector out of the purview of shutdowns.
On the ongoing political unrest, the BGMEA president said international buyers are sending ominous messages.
The garment makers often fail to maintain the lead time due to the shutdowns.
They can neither transport raw materials to factories nor take the finished goods to port for shipment, Islam added.
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