Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has sought a guarantee from the government against a Tk 5.0 billion (500 crore) loan under the Bangladesh Bank (BB) refinancing scheme, officials said.
The specialised bank will take the short-term refinancing loan soon at an interest rate of 5.0 per cent (bank rate) to facilitate its lending operation, they added.
There is no grace period for the refinancing loan.
Managing Director of RAKUB Kazi Alamgir told the FE, "We have sought a guarantee from the finance ministry recently."
When contacted, an official of the finance ministry said, "We have received a letter from the RAKUB in this regard. We are working on the issue."
The bank has set a target to disburse Tk 22 billion in loans for the purpose of poverty alleviation and agriculture production in the current fiscal year (FY), 2018-19.
In FY 2017-18, the bank disbursed Tk 20.50 billion in loans, exceeding its target of Tk 19.50 billion.
The bank disburses 60 per cent of its total loan portfolio to the country's agriculture production sector.
The RAKUB, as the largest development partner in agriculture of the northwest region, aims to contribute to overall development of farmers and all the sectors and sub-sectors of agriculture in this region.
Characterised by the surplus food grain production, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions in this region are popularly called the "granary of the country".
The government provided guarantees against a total of over Tk 43.82 billion loans in 14 years from June 30, 2003 to FY 2016-17.
The authorised capital of the bank as determined by the government is Tk 10 billion and paid-up capital Tk 8.24 billion.
There are 381 branches of the bank in the country, including the LPO and Dhaka branch. Of them, 193 branches are in Rajshahi divison and 185 in Rangpur division.
The bank has 319 rural and 69 unban branches. The RAKUB head office is located in Rajshahi.
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