Movable assets now allowed as collateral for bank loans

Representational Image. Photo: Collected

Vehicles, machinery, furniture, electronic appliances, software, agricultural products, minerals, processed fish, and livestock – values of which can be calculated, considered as movables in banking parlance, and which were not accepted as security for loans, can now be furnished as collateral.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the draft of the Secured Transactions (Movable Property) Act, which will help small and medium entrepreneurs and those engaged in self-employment – who do not have enough immovable property – to provide as securities against credit facilities.

Currently, only immovable property such as buildings and land are accepted as collateral against bank loans. In some cases, banks also disburse loans against savings certificates and deposit pension schemes, but those are not applied to business loans.

"Now, one can secure a bank loan by keeping their movable assets – vehicles, jewelries, etc – as collateral," Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told the media after the meeting yesterday.

The list of such movable assets also includes raw materials for export products, work orders, precious metals such as gold, certificates of deposits in banks and financial institutions, medicinal plants, and fruit-bearing trees.

Raw materials for making export products with proper documents as proof can be used as collateral for bank loans. Gold, silver, and other precious metals with certificates from any recognised authority on their weight and purity could also be furnished as collateral.

A well-known company's share certificate and documents of patent or intellectual property rights can be put as collateral as well.

Meanwhile, the cabinet secretary said work on the Padma Bridge project has been hampered because of the Russia-Ukraine war as the government now cannot import the necessary materials from many European countries.

"We are trying to bring all the equipment soon. We also hope that we can open the Padma Bridge before the scheduled time," he added.
 
Welfare trust for government primary teachers

The cabinet yesterday approved the draft of the Government Primary School Teachers Welfare Trust Law.

According to the draft, a 21-member committee headed by the director-general of the Department of Primary Education will form a fund to collect a certain amount of money from the teachers.

The children of the teachers will get money from the trust if any teacher dies before completing their job tenure. Even the teachers' families will be provided skill training by the trust.

The teachers and their family members will also get financial support from the trust if they become sick.

National Employment Policy

The Cabinet also approved the draft National Employment Policy with a view to building skilled manpower to face the fourth industrial revolution.

"We are planning to re-skill at least 56 lakh people by next 3 or 4 years as the existing education system cannot produce skilled manpower capable of facing the future challenges," the cabinet secretary said.