Home ›› 30 Sep 2021 ›› Front
Deposits in no-frills accounts grew by 3.07 per cent to Tk 2,666 crore during the April-June quarter of this year, says a report of the Bangladesh Bank.
It says the number of such accounts stood at 2.42 crore in this period.
The report titled “Quarterly Report on No-Frill Accounts” also said the amount of deposits in such accounts had increased by 11.95 per cent in this period compared to the previous quarter.
The number of Tk 10 accounts of farmers increased by 0.26 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
Farmers’ accounts remain the largest share (41 per cent) of no-frills accounts, followed by those of social security programme beneficiaries (36 per cent) and the extreme poor (14 per cent). Government subsidies in the agricultural sector are regularly disbursed through farmers’ accounts.
The proportion of apparel workers’ accounts is 2 per cent.
Besides, the number of accounts of the extreme poor and the beneficiaries of social safety net programmes rose by 6.64 per cent and 5.88 per cent respectively compared to the previous quarter.
The central bank has taken various initiatives to provide financial services for the people of all segments of society.
As part of those, it has issued directives for banks to open accounts for the underprivileged people with an initial deposit of Tk 10/50/100.
These accounts require neither a minimum balance nor any service charge.
Relatively high interest rates than the existing savings rates are offered for these accounts to increase the welfare of the marginal people.
The number of such accounts the government has used to disburse subsidies or salaries rose by 0.89 per cent in the April-June period compared to the previous quarter.
Besides, banks have extended Tk 223.86 crore in credit to the underprivileged people under a Tk 200 crore refinance scheme through such accounts.
These accounts have also played an important role in accumulating foreign remittance. During the April-June quarter, remittance of Tk 512.82 crore was deposited in 1,26,165 accounts.
Till June 2021, there were 29,76,643 school banking accounts having deposits of Tk 2,147.81 crore. The increasing trend in school banking activities indicates that school students are developing the habit of savings, the central bank report said.
No-frills accounts played a significant role in helping the underprivileged people maintain their livelihoods during the Covid-19 pandemic as subsidies or salaries were disbursed through those.
Despite severe constraints on economic activities, 9.8 per cent growth in opening no-frills accounts in the April-June quarter indicates continuous progress in financial inclusion of the marginal people, the report said.
