The state-run banks are becoming a lacklustre option for export financing despite the fact that they offer lower interest rates and have better access to funds, exporters say.

Exporters nowadays are rather opting for private commercial banks, which provide fast and well-organised service, while the government banks are fraught with inept and complex procedures, bureaucratic red tapes and sluggish service. However, exporters still rely on state-run banks when it comes to big volume financing as arranging vast amount of cash is often hard for private banks.

“The processing of simple loan applications in state-run banks is very lengthy and it’s difficult to go through all the voluminous paperwork,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB).

The EAB chief said the state-owned banks played an extraordinary role in industrialisation and export financing during the 80s and 90s but couldn’t keep up with the changing needs of exporters and struggled to provide efficient service.

“The private banks slowly took over the financing of export-oriented sectors because of their superior services. They also maintain better customer relations,” Murshedy told The Independent. The state-run banks are performing poorly in industrial loan recovery, he added.

The private banks’ top-notch service and hassle-free financing had made an increasing number of exporters move away from state-run banks.

Anowarul Islam, a garment exporter, said, “Private banks have state-of-the-art facilities and they are proactive in communication. Opening letters of credit and availing loans are much easier in private banks.”

The state-run banks, on the other hand, claim that they are providing better facilities such as lower lending rates and easy access to loans.

Md Abdur Razzaque, assistant general manager of Foreign Trade Department of Janata Bank, said, “State-run banks’ interest rate for exporters is 7 per cent, while the private banks charge 18 per cent. We have no extra fees and ‘hidden charges’ like private banks.”

Razzaque said private banks are reluctant to help small clients and state banks are still the solution to  them. He said the regular collateral ratio is 1:1.5, but for exporters it is either 1:1 or collateral-free.

He said the state banks are serving a big customer base and that could sometime lead to slow service. “If a private bank serves 10 clients, we serve 110. They have a selective customer base, we serve everyone,” Razzaque said.
Razzaque said state-run banks are working in line with the government’s export policy and give highest priority to the export sector. The state banks arranged quick cash during Eid for the garment exporters to pay their workers which helped avert labour unrest, he added.

Financing exports at a subsidised rate also makes it hard for the state-run banks to make any profit. “Sometimes we even make losses, but we are following government policy to help exports,” Razzaque said.

However, private banks defended their high interest rates, citing rising inflation and monetary policy pressures. “On top of the inflationary growth and tight fiscal policy, we have to think about availability of funds and the costs of running an operation. If you consider these things I’d say we are not charging high interest rates,” said Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, chairman of BRAC Bank.

Murshedy said state banks can afford lending at a lower rate because they face much less liquidity crisis and get big funds from the government.

“The private banks collect money from the public and they have a much higher risk factor,” he said.

He, however, said, “When it comes to big loans, there is little to do but to go to the government banks. Private banks have to form consortiums to put together such big amounts.”

At present, the government under the Export Credit Guarantee Scheme provides Export Credit Guarantee (Pre-shipment), Export Credit Guarantee (Post-shipment), Export Payment Risk Policy (Comprehensive Guarantee) and Whole Turnover Pre-shipment Finance Guarantee, covering risks on export credit as well as probable commercial and political risks occurring abroad.

The government also provides loans and venture capital on easy terms and low interest rates from the Export Promotion Fund (EPF) for the exporters.

The Export Policy 1997-2002 also ensured incentives such as rebate on insurance premium, income tax rebate on export earnings, duty drawbacks, tax holiday and cash subsidies.

The Daily Independent/Bangladesh/ 4th Jan 2012