Staff Reporter :
FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim on Wednesday urged the country’s banks to take quick steps to disburse the stimulus money declared by the government to stave off the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.
Fahim said the banks should play a pro-active role by adopting easy ways to help the country’s cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises get their share from the package of 20,000 crore taka announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He stressed the need for engaging the FBCCI members-all chambers and associations-to provide small shops, clinics and hospitals,women entrepreneurs and media houses with stimulus funds, said a press release.
The boss of the apex business body requested the Association of the Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) to expedite the process as the coronavirus crisis has put various sectors under serious strains.
Sheikh Fahim made the statement in a discussion titled “Roadmap to Stimulus Loan Execution 20,000 crore and 30,000 crore”. The discussion, which was held in the FBCCI’s Icon Tower in Motijheel, was also participated by chairmen and managing directors of various state-owned and private banks, former FBCCI presidents, FBCCI directors and economists.
Fahim said the government-announced stimulus package was “targeted and focused” but now it was the responsibility of the banks to do the rest. He said to help the national economy survive the banks must come forward to quickly execute the plans for stimulus package.
“The decision to provide food assistance to 4 crore people, 700 crore taka for the workers in the informal sector, 20,000 crore for the SME sector, 30,000 crore for the large sectors, 5,000 crore for the export-oriented sector, 5,000 crore for the agriculture sector is a brave one. Now the banks should shoulder the responsibility for the interest of the national economy,” he said.
By welcoming the Bangladesh Bank’s various steps to resolve the liquidity crisis in the banking sector, Fahim said the central bank’s decisions have strengthened the base for the banks to disburse the stimulus money in a disciplined manner.
“For the Bangladesh Bank’s steps the banks’ liquidity is supposed to increase up to 46,000 crore and it is supposed to be 70,000 crore with Export Development Fund (EDF) while through the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) there should be an excess fund of 1 lac crore taka. Under the stimulus package the facility for subsidy for interest and matching fund option would benefit the banks,” Fahim said.
“Under such schemes the state-owned banks and the private banks can forge a strong partnership so that they can work together and provide support to various sectors, especially the SME sector,” he said. Fahim also said if the country’s burgeoning informal sector can survive through the crisis with the contribution from the state-owned and private banks this informal sector will be integrated into the formal sector one day.
“This will be a win-win situation, and the banks will also benefit enormously through this inclusion,” he said.
