Bangladesh Bank Wednesday decided to refinance Tk8bn to two state-owned banks Bangladesh Krishi Bank Tk5bn and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank Tk3bn. The fund will be provided against government securities at 5% interest.

A meeting of the bank board at the central bank headquarters took the decision as the specialised banks were facing difficulty in providing agriculture loan due to fund shortage, said an official. Governor Atiur Rahman chaired the meeting.

BKB has a capital shortfall of around Tk55bn and classified loans of Tk47bn while RAKUB’s capital deficit stands at Tk2.67bn and classified loans Tk15bn, according to the Bangladesh Bank data. The board also reviewed the financial status of four state-owned commercial banks.