BB Raises Interest Rate for Loans from EDF Fund

The Bangladesh Bank today raised the interest rate for loans from its export development fund (EDF) by 1 percentage point in a bid to make borrowing costlier and thus save foreign currencies.

As per the new decision, the manufacturer-exporters will have to pay 4 per cent interest annually for foreign currency loans from banks.

Earlier, the lenders were allowed to disburse the loans at 3 per cent interest to the borrowers.

The interest rate for banking regulator's loans extended to banks from the EDF will be 2.5 per cent, up from the existing 1.5 per cent.

The size of the export development fund is $7 billion.