Many banks would bring down their lending rates to single- digit levels by coming January, top executive officers of a good number of them said Friday.
They, however, urged the government to cut further the yield rates on state-run saving certificates and other deposit instruments to facilitate the banks in interest cutbacks they pledged at last.
The bankers mentioned that despite having their good intentions to lower the rates of interest, it was being hindered badly by default-loan culture.
Their observations came at a view-exchange meeting at the Banking Fair where banks’ chiefs and their clients interacted over the much-talked-about issue of high lending rates and wider interest spread that make capital investment costlier.
Bangladesh Bank organised the session as part of the banking fair on the Bangla Academy premises. The maiden fair on banking industry concluded on Saturday (November 28).
“There is possibility that interest rate will further come down from next January. We are setting certain modalities for the schemes so that we can charge interest rate below 10 per cent,” said Agrani Bank Managing Director (MD) Syed Abdul Hamid in reply to a question from a client.
He further said it mostly depends on the interest rates on state-run savings certificates and other deposit instruments.
“If we have to pay more to depositors, we have to charge more interest,” he said.
Replying to clients’ questions, Managing Director and CEO of NCC Bank Golam Hafiz Ahmed said: “We are already granting loan at single-digit interest to top line borrowers and in risk-free and less-risky loans. The overall interest rate will come down if interest rates on deposits and savings certificates are lowered.”
