BB rolls out loans for 10-taka account holders

The central bank yesterday approved a Tk 200 crore refinancing scheme to provide loans to Tk 10 account holders.
The purpose of the scheme is to enable the poor to earn additional money by initiating small businesses, said a Bangladesh Bank official, adding that the inclusion of poor in business activities would benefit the economy.
The central bank will provide the fund to commercial banks and financial institutions at 5 percent interest rate. The banks in turn will provide collateral-free credit to the Tk 10 account holders at single digit interest rates, according to the scheme.
Once the credit has been repaid, the amount will be used as a revolving fund. Details on the scheme such as credit amount, loan criteria, recovery process and the single digit interest rate will be set at a later date, the central bank official added.
The Bangladesh Bank board also instructed the management to involve non-governmental organisations while disbursing loans to the account holders.
As of September this year, the number of Tk 10 account holders—who are mostly farmers, garment workers, city corporation cleaning workers, freedom fighters and social safety net beneficiaries—stood at around 1.32 crore. There is no provision of keeping any amount of balance in these accounts.
A central bank official said the NGOs' involvement in the scheme is aimed at supervising and monitoring of the fund.
The central bank board also approved a Tk 5 crore fund yesterday for corporate social responsibility activities.