Loan disbursement thru agent banking up 20% in April-June 

Loan disbursement through agent banking has surged 20% to Tk7,645 crore in the April-June quarter compared to Tk6,421 crore of the previous quarter (January-March) of this calendar year, according to the latest report of the Bangladesh Bank.

Compared with the same period of the previous year, the rise is around 140%. 

Sector insiders said with the gradual expansion of agent banking, many people who were out of the banking services earlier at the rural level now can avail the services easily, which is the key reason behind the increased flow of such loans.

Agent banking gained rapid popularity during the peak hours of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the central bank report, the amount of deposits through agent banking stood at Tk28,085 crore at the end of June 2022, up 37.81% from Tk20,379 crore of the previous year. 

"However, loan disbursement through agent banking is still not significant compared to the volume of deposits. This is due to the fact that most banks have yet to develop feasible infrastructures for loan disbursement and recovery through agent outlets," reads the central bank quarterly report on agent banking.

It also said the loan-to-deposit ratio of agent banking is now 27.22%.

According to the report, the agent banks received some Tk97,048 crore in remittance in the June quarter, which was Tk67,954 crore in the same quarter of 2021. 

The number of agent banking customers stood at 1.6 crore at the end of July. It was 1.2 crore in July last year. 

Bangladesh Bank introduced agent banking in Bangladesh in 2013 with an aim to provide a safe alternate delivery channel of banking services to the under-served population who generally live in geographically remote locations that are beyond the reach of the formal banking networks.