Banks now can reschedule and restructure loans, waive eligible interest and determine down-payment requirements based on borrower-lender relationship as the regulator bends rules for distress alleviation.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) relaxed the loan-restructuring and-rescheduling facility for helping distressed businesses out of current macroeconomic stress stemming from the prolonged Middle East conflicts and rising borrowing costs being borne by export-oriented industries.
Issuing a circular Monday, the central bank extended restructuring facilities for eligible borrowers with loans created up to September 30, 2026.
The facility will cover borrowers with outstanding loans of up to Tk1,000 crore under specified conditions.
The circular also states that borrowers with outstanding loan exposure of Tk1,000 crore or more will be eligible for the relaxed framework.
The tenure of rescheduled facility extends to 15 years from the existing 10 years with a maximum two-year grace period.
Seeking anonymity, a BB official said: "Bangladesh's export sector has experienced temporary negative effects similar to many other countries because of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
"In particular, energy-supply disruptions have affected production at export-oriented industrial enterprises, weakening borrowers' capacity to repay bank loans."
He said the introduction of the market-based interest regime has significantly increased interest expenses for business borrowers. Coupled with the ongoing business slowdown, higher financing costs have further reduced the repayment ability of many enterprises.
As part of its broader strategy to reduce non-performing loans (NPLs), he said, the BB has adopted an 18-month roadmap.
Under the first phase of the roadmap, which runs until December 31, 2026, the central bank has decided to provide temporary policy assistance to facilitate loan repayment and business recovery.
The circular allows additional time for the rescheduling and restructuring of loans, particularly for large borrowers with outstanding loans of Tk1,000 crore or above.
The relaxation supplements the provisions of BRPD Circular No 07/2025, enabling eligible borrowers to complete restructuring processes within the extended timeframe.