The Economic Stimulus Plan’s Nu 3.3bn Window I concessional loans can now be accessed only through the Bhutan Development Bank. This means other banks will not be involved in the ESP Window I Concessional loan programme henceforth. According to the ESP Secretariat, this is to expedite the loan assessment and disbursement process as other participating financial institutions do not have branch offices like the BDBL.
Previously, all ESP Concessional loans were administered by multiple financial institutions, including banks and non-financial entities, to ensure widespread reach and diversified economic support.
Now, the Government has decided to implement the entire Nu 3.3bn ESP concessional loans solely through the Bhutan Development Bank given their reach and experience.
For the Window I Concessional loans, seven financial and non-financial institutions received 1473 loan applications till 26th November this year. Of it, they have approved 262 applications amounting to a little over Nu 398 M.
At 242, the Bhutan Development Bank has approved the highest number of applications. The bank will have a new dedicated unit with additional manpower for ESP loans to focus on loan application assessment and disbursement process.
More than 1230 loan applications were related to Agriculture and Livestock businesses of which 188 had been approved.
242 applications were for the Production and Manufacturing sector of which 74 were approved.
The CEO of the BDBL has also been included as a member of the ESP Steering Committee to help resolve any issues related to concessional loans.
According to the ESP Secretariat, all applications received under ESP Window I Concessional Loan by the other six participating financial institutions to date will be transferred to BDBL.
Regarding the loans sanctioned by other Participating Financial Institutions, the BDBL and the RMA will convene a meeting tomorrow to discuss whether those should be transferred to BDBL or if the respective banks should continue to disburse the approved loans.
For the window II reinvigoration loan of Nu 2bn, the seven banks received 85 applications of which 66 are under assessment, 13 are approved and six are declined. All seven PFIs will continue to implement the ESP Window II reinvigoration loan.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Phub Gyem
