BB offers special loan rescheduling facility for hide industry defaulters

Loan defaulters in the rawhide industry have been given the opportunity to reschedule their debts with a 2 percent down-payment ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Bangladesh Bank outlined the special facility in a circular issued on Sunday.

Traders can apply for the facility until July 30.

The rawhide and skins of sacrificial animals during Eid account for half the supply of raw materials used in the leather industry throughout the year.

Ensuring capital flow to the industry at this time will help preserve valuable raw materials while allowing marginalised groups to benefit financially through the sale of rawhide, according to the central bank.

However, some loans in this sector have become classified and this has disrupted the credit flow in many instances. The latest measures aim to address these issues, it said.

According to the latest data, a little over Tk 40 billion in loans have been disbursed to the hide industry, while the amount of default loan is Tk 32.5 billion, most of which are long-term debts.

Additionally, the state-owned commercial banks account for 90 percent of the bad debt.