Bangladesh Bank Establishes BDT 10,000 Crore Refinancing Scheme for SMEs

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has created a BDT 10,000 crore refinancing scheme as part of the BDT 20,000 crore stimulus package launched by the Government of Bangladesh for the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME) sector.

This stimulus package is part of the total incentive package of BDT 72,350 crore announced by Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to combat the impact of COVID-19.

According to a BB circular, the refinancing scheme is offered at 4 per cent interest to banks and non-bank financial institutions. Earlier in April 2020, the BB issued guidelines to provide working capital to CMSMEs with an interest rate ceiling at 9 per cent. Of this, the government would bear 5 per...