Shipbuilders get till 30 Sept to appeal for loan rescheduling 

Responding to requests from stakeholders, the central bank has extended the deadline for application seeking rescheduling non-performing loans of shipbuilding industries by almost 2.5 months till 30 November.

The Banking Regulation and Policy Department (BRPD) of the Bangladesh Bank issued a circular in this regard yesterday.

As per the instructions issued on 20 June, the previous deadline is set to end on 18 September.

According to the new circular, due to various reasons beyond control, a significant number of companies in the shipbuilding industry sector could not fulfil the pre-conditions and failed to submit rescheduling applications with the respective banks. 

In this situation, the application deadline has been extended by depositing the down payment as per rules, it said.

A senior official of the central bank said the Ship Builders Association a few days ago appealed to extend the deadline. 

"They [association] said many institutions want to reschedule their loans. However, they need some more time to collect the necessary documents and submit them to the bank. We have considered their application and decided to extend the application period as per the situation," the official said.

Shipbuilding industries are getting the facility of rescheduling defaulted loans for a total of 10 years with a grace period of two years. 

To get this facility, they have to pay a minimum 2.5% down payment of their outstanding loan as per central bank guidelines. 

After the end of the grace period, the bank will first collect the principal amount of the loan. Later banks can collect the interest amount which is kept in a block account. 

However, a customer can repay the loan principal and interest even within the grace period. The bank authority will dispose of the customer's application within 60 days of receiving the rescheduling application.