Home ›› 01 Jun 2022 ›› Front
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has urged the Bangladesh Bank to introduce a new loan moratorium facility till December this year.
A delegation of the FBCCI headed by its President Md Jashim Uddin placed the proposal at a meeting with Governor of the Bangladesh Bank Fazle Kabir at the central bank headquarters on Tuesday.
The previous moratorium facility, introduced in mid-2020 amid the pandemic, ended on December 31 last year. Under it, borrowers were not recorded as defaulters even if they failed to pay any of the instalments in 2020.
Besides, borrowers needed to pay just 15 per cent of their scheduled instalments in 2021 if they wished not to default.
After the meeting, the FBCCI president told journalists the global economy had slipped into a recession due to supply chain disruptions caused by the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and also the Russia-Ukraine war.
“As a result, FBCCI members are facing various challenges while repaying bank loans,” he said.
Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank, said the central bank governor had welcomed the FBCCI proposal but no decision on it had been made. “We will review the proposal.”
The apex trade body also requested the central bank to increase the size of the Export Development Fund (EDF) to $10 billion from the existing $7.5 billion.
“We urged the central bank to increase the EDF size as the prices of industrial raw materials have gone up,” Jashim said.
Moreover, the FBCCI proposed that the central bank provided banks with a refinance fund for long-term industrial financing as there was no industrial bank or financial institution in the country now.
Jashim said it was very difficult to take out short-term loans for industries, adding the FBCCI had raised several other issues at the meeting, including those faced by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association as well as the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Replying to a question, he said they did not discuss the present volatility in the forex market as there was a conflict of interest because of the FBCCI having both exporters and importers as members.
The FBCCI head said there was no uncertainty in the economy as forex reserves were adequate.
He further said the government should increase remittance incentives.
