Four SoCBs to lend Tk 6.01b to tanners this Eid

Four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) are set to provide Tk 6.01 billion in loans to tanners to help them purchase rawhide of sacrificial animals during this Eid-ul-Azha.

The loan facility will be given to the country's 42 traders concerned this year.

Some 40 tanners got loans amounting to Tk 5.26 billion during Eid-ul-Azha last year.

Janata Bank is set to disburse the highest amount of loans to 32 tanners.

It would give Tk 2.10 billion to their clients for purchasing rawhide during Eid, said a senior official of the state-owned bank.

Rupali Bank will provide Tk 1.75 billion in loan to three parties. Agrani Bank Ltd will disburse Tk 1.46 billion to four clients and Sonali Bank Tk 700 million to three traders, according to sources with the state-run banks.

Of the state-owned banks, Janata Bank disbursed the largest amount of credit worth Tk 2.01 billion last year, followed by Agrani Bank with Tk 1.20 billion, Rupali Bank Tk 1.35 billion and Sonali Bank Tk 700 million.

Some private commercial banks are also going to disburse loans to the traders concerned on a limited scale.

Usually, the state-run banks disburse credit to the leather sector every year, considering the demand for fund, a senior official of Rupali Bank told the FE.

Currently, the total amount of banks' non-performing loans (NPLs) with the leather sector stood at Tk 5.0 billion. Most of the loans were disbursed in early 1990s.

The government has lowered the price of rawhide and skins of sacrificial animals to Tk 45-50 per square foot (sq ft) in the capital during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

Last year, the price of rawhide and skins was Tk 50-55 per sq ft in the city.

On the other hand, the rate has been fixed at Tk 35-40 per sq ft outside the capital, against Tk 40-45 per sq ft last year.

The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) fixed the prices of different types of rawhide after a meeting with the stakeholders, including tanners and traders, at the ministry on August 09.

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