Bangladesh Banks asked the banks to introduce group-based lending to Micro Small and Medium Enterprise entrepreneurs in former enclaves that have recently been included in the map of Bangladesh.
All banks and non-bank financial institutions have been asked to include cottage, micro and medium entrepreneurs under group-based SME lending, said a circular Bangladesh Bank issued yesterday.
The entrepreneurs who got Bangladeshi citizenship among enclave residents will be entitled to the group-based lending facilities, said the circular.
The instruction will take immediate effect.
Enclave residents have spent nearly seven decades beyond the reach of basic financial services, being denied the opportunity even to open a simple bank account.
Almost entirely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, enclave residents have never been able to get farm loans from either Bangladeshi or Indian financial institutions.
Bangladesh Bank asked the banks to provide financial facilities at a minimum cost to the residents of new areas of Bangladesh.
