Muhith asks PSB to help change rural poor’s lot

Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated on Thursday the online banking activities of Palli Sanchay Bank (PSB), with a call to help upgrade the financial condition of rural people.

He launched the real-time core banking activities of the newly established bank, dedicated to provide seasonal loans to the rural poor for improving their livelihood, at a function at Bangladesh Secretariat.

The government last year turned the "One House, One Farm" project into PSB to make more funds available to the poor people.

Mr Muhith hoped that all the eligible people would come under the net of "One House, One Farm" project by 2021, when the project will be abolished while the bank will fully takeover the activities of the project.

He said that the attitude of saving something grew among the people between 1983 and 2016, and it has brought big changes to the country's economy. The people now prefer taking group loans, instead of micro-credit, and jointly start farm business.

The minister said the PSB at a time digitised its 485 branches. None of the other banks could digitise such a big number of branches at once.

Speaking on the occasion, PSB chairman Dr Mihir Kanti Mazumder said no bank was providing loan at an interest rate as low as 8.0 per cent, but the PSB was doing so.

He expressed the hope of extending the banking services to the union level for bringing more un-banked people under the services.

Finance division senior secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon and financial institutions division secretary Eunusur Rahman also spoke, among others, on the occasion.    

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