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Sonali, Janata cut lending rates

Gazi Towhid Ahmed
Two state-run banks - Sonali and Janata - have reduced their lending rates due to excess liquidity amid a poor demand for loans.
The interest rate for Sonali Bank's term loans came down by 1 percentage point to 14 percent, working capital loans by 2 percentage points to 14 percent and SME loans by 3.5 percentage points to 13 percent.
Janata Bank cut lending rates by 1 percentage point to 14 percent for its term loans.
The new interest rates that took effect yesterday will help attract customers, said Pradip Kumar Dutta, managing director of Sonali Bank.
"The interest rates were cut due to a poor demand for loans and idle liquidity in the bank," Dutta said.
As on June 30, the bank has disbursed loans worth Tk 34,000 crore and collected deposits of Tk 66,000 crore, he said.
"Our filed-level officials have been given targets to increase loan disbursement," he added.
SM Aminur Rahman, managing director of Janata Bank, said: "We decided to cut the interest rates due to excess liquidity. Our cost of fund is also low. We are offering 9.5 percent interest on deposits. ”
However, Abul Barkat, chairman of Janata Bank, called for a single digit lending rate for the sake of massive industrialisation.
"If we want to set up big industrial units in the country, we should offer single digit interest rates," Barkat said.
The cuts in lending rates by the state-owned banks will encourage
private banks to do the same, said Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor ofBangladesh Bank.
Political uncertainty, a scarcity of gas and electricity, and poor infrastructure are some of the reasons behind the declining demand for loans, Ahmed said.
The state banks should stop being dilatory while providing services to the general people, he said, adding that the banks should select potential borrowers, including SME entrepreneurs, to speed up loan disbursement.
"It is a good move by the state banks," said Fahmida Akter Khatun, research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue.
She, however, said reducing the lending rates is not enough to boost investment. "We should ensure an investment-friendly environment and sufficient infrastructure."