Deposits in no-frill accounts up by Tk864 crore YoY
The number of no-frill accounts increased by 14.28 lakh to 2.58 crore in the July-September period this year
The amount of deposits in no-frill bank accounts has gone up by Tk864 crore in a span of one year despite rising commodity prices.
The no-frill account, which is a savings account that does not need any minimum balance month after month, is increasingly becoming popular in the country.
Apart from the ultra-poor, farmers, freedom fighters, apparel workers and the beneficiaries of social safety net programmes use no-frill bank accounts.
According to the quarterly data (July-September) from the Bangladesh Bank, these NFA accounts have a total of Tk3,436 crore in deposits at the end of September, which stood at Tk2,572 crore at the same time of the previous year.
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The data shows, among all the categories of Tk10/50/100 no-frill accounts, farmers' accounts remain the strongest through which government subsidies for the agricultural sector are disbursed regularly.
At the end of September, the total deposits in the farmers' accounts stood at Tk602 crore, which is 5.79% higher than that of the previous quarter (April-June) and 24.45% higher than that of the July-September quarter of 2021.
The trend shows negative growth in holding deposits at the NFAs of the extremely poor. Deposits in the accounts of the extremely poor decreased by 1.98% from the previous quarter (April-June) and 8.33% from the July-September quarter of 2021.
The latest central bank updates reveal that the freedom fighters' balance to no-frill accounts is Tk956 crore, while the extreme poor have Tk197 crore, social safety net beneficiaries have Tk861 crore and apparel workers have Tk247 crore in deposits.
The government provided loans to farmers and small entrepreneurs from Tk200-500 crore refinancing scheme in an effort to boost the rural economy.
The loan disbursements in this segment through the Tk10 bank accounts increased by 10.15% in the September quarter compared to the previous quarter, indicating a vibration in economic activities.
The central bank's Executive Director and Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque said various grants including government support and incentives are added to these accounts which contributed to the increase in deposits.
"Many people save this money and withdraw it after a certain period of time. Besides, other efforts are being made to bring these marginalised people into the banking channel by increasing the number of accounts," he added.
NFA accounts rise by 14 lakh
The total number of no-frill accounts increased by 14.28 lakh to 2.58 crore in the July-September period this year compared to the same period last year.
Around 70% of these accounts have been opened with four state-owned banks – Sonali, Krishi, Agrani and Janata.
Sonali and Agrani banks are at the top of the list in terms of deposits, accounting for 64% of total deposits.
Bank Asia is the only private bank in the list of top five banks in terms of the number of accounts.
Deposits in school banking accounts also up by Tk100 crore
The amount of deposits in school banking accounts has also increased by Tk100 crore over the last year.
In September this year, total deposits in 31.82 lakh accounts stood at Tk2,279 crore. On the contrary, around Tk2,172 crore was deposited in 29.97 lakh accounts during the same period last year.
The central bank report says the number of school banking accounts has grown by 8.87% over the September 2021 quarter, owing to the reopening of educational institutions after a long Covid closure.
As of 30 September 2022, a total of 19 banks have opened 27,854 Street Urchin and Working Children accounts. Overall, the no-frill accounts contribute significantly to bring the financially excluded people under the umbrella of formal financial services.
