Country’s largest chamber the DCCI on Tuesday urged the central bank to increase credit flow to the CMSME sector for accelerating growth employment generation.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) board of directors made the call while exchanging views with Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur at the Bangladesh Bank headquarter, Matijheel in the capital.
During the meeting DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said that if the interest rate increases, that may slow down the flow of credit, especially for CMSMEs.
In terms of SME financing, Bangladesh Bank has several schemes, which can be accelerated to facilitate the financing process for this sector, he added.
Dhaka Chamber president also requested for facilitating foreign trade credit processing, foreign loan processing and increasing credit flow to the banks. Above all, he requested the central bank to take initiative on reducing of pressure of interest rates on loans to CMSMEs.
He requested the Bangladesh Bank not to continue this policy for a prolonged period and start reducing rates as soon as practicable. Ashraf Ahmed expressed that we also want that the inflation to be controlled, because inflation not only increases the cost of common people but also it increases the operational costs of businesses. He also commented that if the bad loans of the banks come down, the lending interest rate can also decrease subsequently.
He also welcomed the central bank's initiative to bring stability to country's financial sector. The Dhaka Chamber President said that for the development of the CMSME sector, assistance is needed to deal with the pressure of interest rate increase and maintain the flow of credit.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur said if the existing inflation can be brought down to a tolerable level within the next 6-7 months, reduction of policy interest rate and other interest rates will be possible.
The Governor emphasized on making credit guarantee facilities for SMEs more operational. He emphasized on the need of limiting the rate of government borrowing to increase the flow of credit to the private sector.
Deputy Governors of Bangladesh Bank Nurun Nahar and Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, DCCI Senior Vice President Malik Talha Ismail Bari, Vice President Md. Junaed Ibna Ali and members of the Board were also present during the meeting.
