RAJSHAHI: Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has disbursed Tk 815 crore as loan in the country’s north-western region during the first six months of the current 2015-16 fiscal year, reports BSS.
More than 98,249 borrowers received the loans for boosting crop production and rural economy besides creating employment.
According to the officials concerned, Tk 399 crore for crops, Tk 10 crore for fisheries, Tk 36 crore for animal resource, Tk 1 crore for agricultural farms and machineries, Tk 4 crore for agro-based industries, Tk 58 crore for SMEs, Tk 124 crore for cash credit, Tk 11 crore for poverty reduction and Tk 84 crore for different others need-based sectors were disbursed during the same period.
Side by side with the disbursement, the bank has also realised Tk 1002 crore including classified and other outstanding loans and mobilized deposit worth Tk 3,642 crore through 378 branches in all the 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.  RAKUB Managing Director Monzur Ahmed told BSS that the bank has set a target of disbursing Tk 1,6000 crore as loan, recovery of Tk 1,900 crore including Tk 721 crore classified loan and deposit collection of Tk 4,425 crore during the current fiscal.
He said the present government had earmarked the huge money for RAKUB for disbursing as crop and rural uplift loan only in the northwest Bangladesh during the current fiscal.  To build a poverty- free Bangladesh, he said the bank had enhanced its lending activities in multipurpose potential fields for boosting agriculture production, intensifying food security and flourishing poultry and dairy sectors to reduce protein deficiency.
As the largest development partner in agriculture as well as agro- based industry sector of the northwest region, currently the bank has adopted multipurpose development programmes, which are being implemented at the grassroots to make the credit programmes easier.