The Padma Bank Limited will provide loans at 4 percent interest rate to farmers to increase production in the agricultural sector in the country. This loan will be given under a fund titled "5000 crore refinancing scheme for agriculture sector to ensure food security of the country" formed by Bangladesh Bank (BB), said a press release on Wednesday. It said an agreement was signed between the Bangladesh Bank and the Padma Bank to disburse the loans on easy terms. Read more: Money transfer from Padma Bank to bKash made easy In November last year, the central bank formed a refinance scheme of Tk5,000 crore for farmers as part of the government’s efforts to stave off food scarcity amid a looming global crisis in 2023 stemmed from the Russia-Ukraine war. Abul Kalam Azad, director to Agriculture Credit Division of the central bank and Faisal Ahsan Chowdhury, managing director (Current Charge) of Padma Bank, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations in the presence of BB Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar at Jahangir Alam Conference Hall of the BB’s head office. AKM Sajedur Rahman Khan, deputy governor of the central bank, its Executive Director (Agricultural Credit Department) Md Anwarul Islam and senior officials from both organisations were present during the signing ceremony. Read more: BB releases Tk100 commemorative notes to mark Padma Bridge opening Farmers will be able to take loans for production of paddy, fisheries, vegetables, fruits, flowers, poultry and dairy items under the livestock sector.

Padma Bank and Shadhin Fintech have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a web and App- based platform where customers can apply for Nano loans online. Under  the system, the borrowers can submit NID and other supporting documents online which will be verified from respective organizations. Padma Bank and Shadhin Fintech signed the MoU in this regard at an event held at Padma Bank’s Gulshan Corporate Head office. Read: DCCI launches PGD courses on business development Credit scoring and customer analysis will be done through Artificial Intelligence (AI) based models which would provide very quick decisions on all these applications. The Nano loan product will be launched after regulatory approval of Bangladesh Bank. The MoU was signed by Zabed Amin, Chief Operating Officer from Padma Bank and Kashfia Mahmud,CEO, Shadhin Fintech. Other senior officials of both organizations were also present on the occasion. Read BB enhances working capital loans limit for export-import trading The fourth generation Padma Bank Limited, which is owned by the government-owned Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali Bank and ICB, has fallen in vulnerable condition due to bad loans. At present the bank has been providing modern banking services to its customers through 58 branches across the country.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said he received no application from the Padma Bank Limited for its merger plan with any state-owned bank.   “I received no application from Padma Bank so far,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase (CCPP) on Wednesday. Mustafa Kamal, however, said now all the state-owned banks like Janata, Sonali and Rupali have certain stakes in the Padma Bank’s ownership structure.    He also said a draft has been prepared for framing a law on the merger and acquisition. “Hopefully, the law will be enacted soon to facilitate the process of merger and acquisition. Once the law is enacted, we can consider the proposal of the Padma Bank.”   Read: Savings certificates: Finance Minister defends profit lowering Kamal said the owners of the Padma Bank failed to run the bank due to corruption by a section of people. “Punitive measures were taken against those people. Now they are in jail after trial,” he said adding, “What else can the government do?   Responding to another question, the finance minister said Business Research International Corporation Inc. (BRIC), a Panama-based company, which was given the approval to set up a 50MW solar power plant in Terkhada in Khulna, is not a tainted company like those the names of which were published in Panama Papers. He said the company in Joint Venture with Hero Future Energies Asia Pte. Ltd, Singapore will set up the plant on its own and the government does not need to invest any amount in the project.   Read: No money from stimulus package enters stock market: Finance Minister State-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity over 20 years at a total cost of Tk 1328.90 crore. The finance minister said this company may be based in Panama, but it is not among those companies which were published by Panama Papers for their corruption. “Panama Papers companies and a Panama-based company are not the same,” he said.   

Padma Bank has launched an Internet Banking solution titled “Padma Bank i-Banking” for its customers.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday filed a case against six people including Mahbubul Haq Chisty, former chairman of audit committee of Farmers Bank (currntly Padma Bank).