Bangladesh Bank has restructured and renamed its Tk20,000 crore financial support initiative to inject greater dynamism into its operations, issuing a new circular (BRPD‑1 Circular Letter No. 37) on Thursday.
Under the updated directives, the scheme—originally titled the "Closed Industry and Service Sector Facilitation Pre‑Finance Scheme"—has been officially renamed the "Closed Industry and Service Sector Facilitation Re‑Finance Scheme." All references to "Pre‑finance scheme" in previous circulars dated June 4, July 7, and September 17, 2026, have been replaced with "Re‑finance scheme," making the program formally a refinancing initiative.
Banks must now collect a formal declaration from loan seekers confirming that they have no prior history of money laundering, forgery, fund diversion, or misuse of loan funds. Borrowers will receive priority when applying for loans under this scheme from the same bank that originally extended their project loan.
All transactions utilizing funds provided under the scheme must be conducted through the customer’s Escrow Account or Revenue Account, strictly adhering to prior central bank instructions regarding project income account openings (BRPD Circular No. 01, dated January 18, 2024).
Participating banks are required to sanction loans with the approval of their board of directors or the board’s executive committee. Applications for refinancing, along with necessary data and documentation in a prescribed format (Annexure‑A), must be submitted to the Director of BRPD‑3 at Bangladesh Bank’s head office within the week following loan disbursement.
If a bank fails to apply within the subsequent week, an application may still be submitted within an additional 15 days by providing valid reasons. The central bank issued these orders under the authority conferred by Section 45 of the Bank Company Act, 1991, and the instructions take effect immediately. Corresponding participation agreements executed with banks will be deemed amended in alignment with these changes.
Why it matters
The reclassification and new compliance requirements aim to tighten oversight of financing for closed industries, reducing risks of fund misuse and enhancing accountability in the sector.