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A lackluster performance is evident in loan disbursement target of Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB) and its accomplishment in the reintegration of returnee migrants.
Of its 79 branches, 18 performed the best, but that only accounts for 20-35 per cent of the bank’s loan target in Fiscal Year 2020-21.
Below 10 per cent of target was achieved by 29 branches while 32 branches could achieve only 10-20 per cent target.
The information was revealed at a webinar titled “Reintegration of returnee migrants in the context of Covid-19” organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in association with PROKASH and SDC on Thursday.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue conducted the research with the collaboration of RMMRU on PKB’s loan disbursement and its performance in reintegration of returnee migrants.
CPD Research Director Khondaker Golam Moaazzem led the research team.
According to the research findings, from September 2020 to April 2021 the bank could disburse Tk 56.39 crore to 2,352 individuals comprising only 0.59 per cent of the total returnee migrants.
Till April 2021, only 1.15 per cent of the total recipients of special reintegration loan were female though about 12 per cent of the returnees are estimated to be female.
The existing branches of PKB need 632 employees for smooth operations. But the total number of employees of the bank stands at 286 as of early June 2021.
Despite its expansion of branches over the years, Probashi Kallyan Bank has failed to bring the migrant workers and their families as well as the returnee migrants under its banking network, the study finds.
However, 50 out of 79 branches of the bank are concentrated in Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna divisions.
The district-wise expansion of branches is also poor. 10 per cent of total migrants are from Cox’s
Bazar but the district has only one branch.
Md Zahidul Haque, managing director of PKB, claimed that most returnees come to bank. They know the details but do not take the loan. They think that it is a kind of grant from the government, not a loan.
“Now the total number of PKB branches is 86. The number will grow into 300 by Fiscal Year 2024-25,” said Zahidul.
Ahmed Monirus Salehin, secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, and Tasneem Siddiqui, chair of RMMRU, spoke at the programme among others.
