The central bank has launched an electronic system, generally known as 'dashboard' to expedite implementation of the stimulus package under the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) through strengthening monitoring and supervision on the priority sector.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Fazle Kabir inaugurated the dashboard at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka on Monday while chief executive officers and managing directors of different commercial banks attended.
Under the automated system, both the BB and scheduled banks are now able to supervise bank-wise different data including sanction as well disbursement of such loans on real time basis instead of weekly one.
"It'll help strengthen monitoring and supervision on such credits closely," a BB senior official told the FE after launching the electronic system.
The central bank will issue a notification in this connection shortly asking all the scheduled banks to use the system properly from the first week of March, according to the official.
The BB's latest moves came against the backdrop of slower progress in loan disbursement under the CMSMEs package despite close monitoring of the central bank.
The banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) disbursed Tk 119.86 billion of the stimulus package to the smaller firms, which are nearly 60 per cent of the total allocation of Tk 200 billion.
Loans amounting to around Tk 132.43 billion were approved for 83,319 Covid-affected CMSMEs across the country as on February 11, the BB's data showed.
The central bank has already asked the banks to disburse all stimulus packages by March 31 to help revive the economy, battered by Covid-19.
The advice was given at a virtual meeting between the bankers and the central bank governor on January 27.
Earlier on February12, 2013, the central bank launched another 'dashboard' for monitoring all kinds of foreign exchange transactions aiming to check fraud and forgery in the country's banking sector.
