BARISHAL, Aug 18: In order to boost the agriculture economy in Barishal Region, the Bangladesh Agriculture Bank (BKB) has disbursed a crop loan of about Tk 1,110 crore.
This loan was credited in the just concluded financial year (FY) 2023-'24. The loan is about 90 per cent of the targeted amount of the agriculture loan.
Amid wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the agriculture kept the village economy activated in the agriculture-prone region having a surplus food grain of about 14 lakh tonnes.
And, in keeping activated the village economy, the agriculture bank played pivotal role, said sources in the Bangladesh Bank and other authorities concerned in Barishal.
Even this largest specialised bank in the country reduced its fiscal loss of Tk 28.10 crore in FY- 2022-'23 to Tk 1.93 crore in FY-2023-'24; of the total 129 branches in the region, 74 ones have been profit-making branches; it was 42 in the previous year.
At present, the deposit money of the bank in the region stands at about Tk 3,000 crore.
During the Covid-19 situation, the bank carried out all types of banking activities including loan-giving under incentive packages.
Now the bank has a classified loan amount of over Tk 300 crore. But this bad loan is only 9 per cent of the disbursed loan while the national percentage is about 25 per cent.
In the FY-2023-'24, the bank realised a classified loan of Tk 39 crore while about 69,000 current and savings accounts were opened with 129 branches in the Barishal region. The bank collected about Tk 380 crore from these new accounts.
During that fiscal year, at only four per cent interest loan, Tk 298 crore were disbursed by the bank under SME Loan Scheme.
Along with this, woman entrepreneurs were given a loan of Tk 3 crore. Besides, the bank also gave huge loans for farming wheat and maize.
About Tk 16 crore were given from its rehabilitation fund of Tk 500 crore to displaced people who returned villages from cities.
The bank could have realised about Tk 345 crore out of the total rescheduled unclassified loan in the region during the same period.
Despite its 45 per cent officer-employee manpower, the bank disbursed about Tk 1,920 crore new loan. It is now trying to realise its due loan of about Tk 1,600.
The total unrealised loan of the bank in the region is about Tk 3,000.
To realise this loan, all officers and employees are continuing their efforts, said Divisional Manager of the bank Md Anisur Rahman Fakir.
"We are always beside agriculture fighters to keep the agriculture economy activated," he added.
He further said, till today no farmer looted bank money.
All due loans are realised, and new loans are given, he said.
This is a current process, he added.
He further said, "We provide loan according to principles of the Bangladesh Bank."
Even the bank is giving loans among people of remote areas and of isolated island areas, he said.
Bank's headquarters is working to address the manpower crisis, he added.
Of the total granted 1,661 staff-members for 129 branches of the bank in the region, only 45 per cent of the staff are working.
This problem will be overcome in the future, the manager maintained.
