Banking & Commodity

Deposits in Tk 10 bank accounts dropped by 80.82 per cent or Tk 163.4 crore year-on-year at the end of December 2020 as poor people had to spend the last of their savings to survive the coronavirusinduced economic hardship.

The prices of chickens and soya bean oil have continued rising on the kitchen markets in the capital, Dhaka, due to an increased demand for the items.

Fast forward a year and now most of the banks are offering their loans products, out of their own volition, at 7-8% interest

Dining out has become a rare exercise amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as many people prefer to stay at home in a bid to maintain social distancing and avoid infection.

Financing by banks and non-bank financial institutions for environment-friendly initiatives rose by 62.36 per cent or Tk 14,984.59 crore in the October-December quarter of 2020 compared with that in the previous quarter.

Capital shortfalls in 10 banks swelled by 50.36 per cent or Tk 9,695.89 crore in the October-December period of the year 2020 as a number of state-owned banks had to keep higher provision against their defaulted loans.

The central bank also instructed the NBFIs to increase their monitoring to see whether loans from one sector are being used in another

A move is underway to slash the existing 24 per cent interest rate or service charge, as imposed by the micro-finance institutions (MFIs), to give poor borrowers some relief.

Thirteen banks faced negative credit growth year-on-year as of December 2020 amid a plunge in demand following the coronavirus outbreak which caused businesses to refrain from taking fresh loans.

NBFIs that availed the BB’s deferred provisioning facility are not allowed to declare any cash dividend