Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Thursday instructed banks to finance the leather sector on a priority basis to enable it to purchase raw hides during and after Eid-ul Azha. The central bank issued the instructions through a circular to the managing directors and CEOs of all scheduled banks in the country. The BB also asked the banks to be flexible in taking collateral from leather industry entrepreneurs against their loans. On July 5, the central bank eased the loan reschedule policy for leather traders to enable them to purchase raw hides during and after Eid-ul Azha. Leather traders now can reschedule their defaulted loans after paying a minimum 2% down payment and get fresh loans under the relaxed policy. Traders will have to apply for rescheduling their defaulted loans to their dealing banks within July 30.
