Loan disbursements thru agent banking fall by 18% in April

Loan disbursements through agent banking fell by 18.35%, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.

In April, loan disbursements decreased by Tk162 crore, reaching a total of Tk722 crore.

According to bankers, the interest rate of loans has been increasing every month in the banking sector since June last year due to which, customers are also considering various factors while taking loans. The rate till June last year was 9%, which has now increased to almost 15%.

According to the central report, the amount of loans disbursed through agent banking is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. At the same time, the amount of deposits is also high.

In April this year, city agents disbursed Tk244 crore while agents in rurals distributed Tk478 crore.

As per the data, in March, transactions through agent banking amounted to Tk72,956 crore. 

In the following month, however, transactions through agent banking stood at Tk67,458 crore with a Tk5,498 crore decrease.

Of these, transactions in rural areas were much higher than in cities. 

According to the data, in April this year, transactions in city agents were Tk15,955 crore whereas, rural agent transactions stood at Tk51,502 crore.

At the end of March this year, the total amount of deposits in agent banking was Tk36,963 crore. 

Deposits in agent banking increased by Tk85,092 crore in April compared to the previous month.