Intermediaries to get low-cost loans to invest in stock market
Tk100 crore to be disbursed to intermediaries at 8.25% interest rate
In a bid to bolster liquidity in the stock market, the Capital Market Stabilisation Fund (CMSF) has partnered with Community Bank Bangladesh, a concern of Bangladesh Police Kallyan Trust, to provide Tk100 crore in loans to intermediaries at a competitive interest rate of 8.25%.
CMSF Chief of Operations Md Monowar Hossain and Community Bank EVP & Head of Operations Shamsul Haque Sufiani signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions at the office of CMSF in the city on Monday.
The CMSF will provide the loan from its funds, and the bank will disburse funds to the selected intermediaries keeping proper collateral and documents.
The fund was created in 2021 by collecting unclaimed, and undistributed dividends of the investors, which have been laid down in the listed companies for years.
The intermediaries-stock brokers, stock dealers, merchant banks, asset management companies, and market makers will avail Tk5 crore to Tk2 crore loans to invest in the capital market.
The loan disbursement process officially started at low-interest rates through the agreement, said officials.
To avail of the loan, intermediaries must maintain deposits equivalent to the loan amount in their accounts, and thus the fund injection will be Tk200 crore into the capital market, with Tk100 crore loans from the CMSF and another Tk100 crore from brokers.
The fund will be invested in fundamental A-category companies.
On 4 January, CMSF board gave the approval to lend Tk100 crore funds to the intermediaries at a fixed interest rate of 7%, with an additional service charge of around 1% (could be more or less than 1%).
After taking applications for the interested intermediaries, the CMSF had selected a dozen of brokerage firms to disburse Tk5 crore to Tk2 crore each.
CMSF Chairman Najibur Rahman; CMSF Board of Governors' member and Policy Development Committee Chairman Delwar Hossain; and Community Bank Internal Control & Compliance head Md Khairul Alam were present, among others, during the agreement signing ceremony.