Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday created a fresh refinance fund worth Tk 200 crore for landless farmers, marginal businesspeople and low-income professionals affected by natural calamity.
The BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks saying that the clients would get loans under the refinance scheme with a 12 per cent to 19 per cent interest rate.
A BB official said that the fund was created to make active the bank accounts of landless farmers, marginal businesspeople and low-income professionals with Tk 10 deposits.
The clients will count 19 per cent interest if they receive the loan
from the refinance fund through NGOs.
The clients, however, will have to count 12 per cent interest if they receive the loans through the scheduled banks.
The banks and the NGOs will receive the fund from the central bank with interest rate of five per cent.
A client will get maximum Tk 50,000 in credit from the banks for one year.
The banks will not take any mortgage from the clients against their disbursed loan under the refinance scheme.
The clients, however, will have to mange a personal guarantor against his or her loans, the BB circular said.

Scheduled banks other than the new nine banks and non-bank financial institutions will have to spend at least 2.5 per cent of their net profits for corporate social responsibility purposes in a fiscal year, said officials of Bangladesh Bank.
The new nine banks will have to spend 10 per cent of their net profits for CSR programmes in a fiscal year as per the conditions they were given at the time of receiving licences from the central bank for their operation.
The BB will not consider allocation for media advertisements and promotional activities as CSR activities, a BB official told New Age on Wednesday.
He said the central bank had already framed draft CSR guidelines for banks and NBFIs.
The CSR allocation will not be mandatory for a bank or NBFI if it posts a negative net profit in a fiscal year.
Banks and NBFIs will not allocate any CSR fund for the organisations related to their directors.
Banks and NBFIs will not be allowed to receive any gift against their CSR disbursement.
The BB official said that the central bank was farming the policy as it had received a number allegation against banks and NBFIs that they misused their CSR fund.
He said that the BB would be able to bring discipline in the CSR allocation by banks and NBFIs when they will follow the guidelines.
Banks and NBFIs will have to disburse CSR fund in three key fields – concessional loans, donation fund, and allocation for developing internal (banks and NBFIs) job environment and gender equality.
Banks and NBFIs will impose lower rate of interest than their weighted average cost of fund for the concessional loans.
The marginal and the landless farmers of the remote areas will be able to receive the concessional loans.
Banks and NBFIs will set up internal baby-cares for their female officials by using CSR fund.
They will give donation to the issues of their
officials if they (issues) obtain scholarship from any reputed educational institution.
A bank or NBFI will have to frame its own CSR policy and its board of directors will have to approve it.
Its board will have to review the policy periodically.
The board will have to make CSR committee led by a director of the bank or the NBFI.
The bank or NBFI will have to make another committee with its senior officials — managing directors and general managers.
Banks and NBFIs will have to publish an annual CSR publication, illustrating their CSR activities

Under the scheme, a borrower can take up to Tk50,000 loan at 12% interest rate from banks who will borrow the money at 5% from Bangladesh Bank

Hassan O. Rashid, Acting Managing Director, EBL, John McCann, Regional Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Diners Club International, Nazeem A Choudhury, EBL Head of Consumer Banking, Rasel Hasan, Head of Cards, Diners Club International are seen at a press conference at a hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL), one of the leading private commercial banks in Bangladesh, has launched an exclusive range of cards in association with Diners Club International®, a business unit of Discover Financial Services.

The announcement came at a press conference held at a city hotel on Wednesday, said a press release.

EBL will gradually introduce a full range of Diners Club credit, corporate and other cards in the growing cards market of Bangladesh to facilitate a cashless society and promote financial inclusion, said a press release.

The EBL Diners Club Cards will be tailored to complement the complex and fast-paced lifestyle of EBL’s elite clients and offer a wide range of premium travel and lifestyle benefits.

In addition, the cardholders would have complimentary access to the Sky Lounge facilities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Additionally, cardholders would be privy to instant global recognition reflecting their status and preferences through a dedicated and elite concierge programme - EBL Diners Club Concierge.News:Daily Sun/15-May-2014

IFIC Bank Limited signed an agreement with a BEXIMCO company – International Knitwear and Apparels Limited – at the BEXIMCO Industrial Park at Kashimpur in Gazipur for offering various mobile banking services.

BEXIMCO Group Director and Chief Executive Officer of BEXIMCO Limited Syed Naved Hussain and IFIC Bank’s Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer S.M. Abdul Hamid signed the deal recently.