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The Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday launched a fresh refinance scheme worth Tk 2,520 crore to support the implementation of the stimulus package worth Tk 20,000 crore meant for the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises.
Due to the new refinance scheme, banks and non-bank financial institutions which would be issuing credits to the CMSME would be entitled to receive the entire fund as refinance from the central bank that they would be issuing to such borrowers.
The BB would provide half of the refinance fund to the participating banks and NBFIs from the new refinance fund and the rest half of the refinance fund from its own fund that was launched earlier.
Under the refinance scheme, the banks and NBFIs would get money from the central bank at the rate of 4 per cent against the disbursement of stimulus loans by the banks and NBFIs to the CMSME.
The refinance fund would be disbursed to banks and NBFIs for three years.
The banks and NBFIs will have to sign agreements with the BB to get money from the fund.
A BB circular issued in this regard on Wednesday asked the interested banks and NBFIs to apply by July 15 to participate in the fund.
The central bank would implement the refinance scheme under the Covid-19 Emergency and Crisis Response Facility Project (CECRFP) to support credit expansion and reduce liquidity constraints of CMSME brought by the COVID pandemic.
The scheme would be implemented with the $300 million in loans provided to the government by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The loan agreement was aligned with the Tk 20,000 crore refinance scheme formed by the BB on April 26 2020 and the Tk 10,000 crore refinance scheme.
On April 26, 2020, the central bank formed a Tk 10,000 crore refinance scheme for the implementation of the Tk 20,000 crore stimulus package for the CMSME.
The central bank was providing refinance to banks and NBFIs against the disbursement of stimulus loans from the package meant for the CMSME.
Apart from the Tk 10,000 crore and Tk 2,520 crore stimulus packages, the central bank has supported the banks and NBFIs to implementat Tk 30,000 crore stimulus package with another Tk 15,000 crore refinance scheme.
Along with the stimulus packages for CMSMEs and for the Tk 30,000 crore for the large export-oriented industries, 10 other stimulus pacakges have so far been announced by the central bank to support businesses amid the coronavirus-induced economic fallout.
A recent BB statement claimed that about 1.24 crore people received benefits out of the 12 stimulus packages, which were implemented through the country’s banking system.
BB said that about 83 per cent of the 12 stimulus packages had already been implemented.
Including the 12 stimulus packages, the government has so far floated 23 stimulus packages worth Tk 1,23,303 crore to support the businesses amid the coronavirus outbreak.
