BB, Brac Bank sign deal to refinance small businesses

Bangladesh Bank and Brac Bank have signed an agreement to provide refinancing facilities to cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs).

The financial support will be provided as a Covid-19 stimulus package to help small businesses recover from the onslaught of the pandemic, Brac Bank said in a press release yesterday.

Md Abdul Wahab, general manager of the project implementation unit under the SME and special programmes department of Bangladesh Bank, and Selim RF Hussain, managing director and chief executive officer of Brac Bank, signed the deal at the central bank on April 6.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide the fund under its Covid-19 emergency and crisis response facility project.

Under the agreement, Brac Bank and other participating banks will avail of refinancing facilities amounting to Tk 2,520 crore from Bangladesh Bank and provide subsidised interest credit to the CMSMEs.

Welcoming the refinancing facility, Hussain said they appreciate Bangladesh Bank for making Brac Bank an implementation partner of the AIIB-funded Covid-19 Emergency and Crisis Response Facility Project.

"As a CMSME-focused bank, Brac Bank is committed to ensuring easy access to finance for the entrepreneurs at the grassroots," he added.