RAKUB disburses TK 19.54b agricultural loans in NW region
Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) disbursed agricultural loans of around Tk 19.54 aimed at increasing crop production and boosting rural economy during the first six months of the current 2022-23 fiscal year.
The loans were disbursed through 383 branches in the country's northwest region consisting of 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.
Apart from this, the specialized commercial bank also recovered loans of Tk 19.92 billion including classified loans of Tk 2.09 billion. It has collected deposits of Tk 6.58 billion during the same period.
Headquartered in Rajshahi, the bank has set a target of disbursing loans of TK 32.50 billion during the current fiscal year, said Md Zahidul Haque, managing director of RAKUB.
Target has also been set to recover loans of TK 35.26 billion, including classified loans with TK 5 billion, and raise deposit collection to TK 30 billion, he said.
All the zonal and branch managers were asked to infuse more dynamism into its all business activities including loan disbursement, recovery especially the classified loan and deposit collection for benefits of both the bank and clients, he said.
"We are very much hopeful about attaining the cherished targets of disbursing loans in all the scheduled sectors within the stipulated time," he added.
As the largest development partner in agriculture as well as agro-based industry sector of northwest Bangladesh, currently, the bank has adopted the effective work plan which is being implemented at the grassroots level to make the credit programme easier.
"We have adopted special credit programmes for encouraging the people for setting up solar power, biogas and waste management plants for generating eco-friendly and alternative power to face the power supply deficit," said Haque, adding, "Credit is being extended to the sector on a priority basis."
He said the bank enhanced its lending activities in multipurpose potential fields for boosting agricultural production, intensifying food security and flourishing poultry and dairy sectors.
Small and marginal women entrepreneurs and others who were not capable of paying collateral are being given priority in terms of disbursing loans.
Haque also said they have attained operational profit worth Tk 440 billion in the last 2021-2022 financial year overcoming the loss of Tk 31 million incurred in the previous 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Their bank has also dropped its net loss of Tk 2.12 billion from Tk 2.73 billion in the last fiscal year.
They attained the profit as a result of painstaking efforts of all officers and employees under a strong monitoring cell.
"We have arranged open loan disbursement programmes, loan fair, loan recovery grand camp and deposit collection fair in all 383 branches," he said.
He added that loans worth Tk 31.83 billion, including classified loans of Tk 32.90 billion were disbursed against the target of 30 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal.
They have also mobilized deposits of Tk 67.57 billion. "We have been able to reduce the number of loss-incurring branches to 87 from 151 in the last fiscal", he added, while talking to BSS on Thursday.
On 23 March last, RAKUB entered into the era of mobile App and internet banking aimed at bringing dynamism into its banking services.
With this breakthrough, clients of the bank are being benefited in many ways, including banking transactions anytime and from anywhere, bill payment of utility services and opening of new bank accounts from home.