Interest Forgiveness Programs for Rural Loans in Bangladesh: Implications of Recent Programs
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Date
1990-08
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Ohio State University. Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Abstract
Programs of interest forgiveness on rural loans, either in response to natural calamities such as floods and cyclones or as an effort to improve loan recovery, are a political tool frequently employed by the Bangladesh government. This paper reviews three recent programs undertaken during the period 1984 to 1986. An analysis is made of the impact of the programs on the clientele of financial institutions and the institutions themselves. Alternatives are explored and recommended. The author concludes that the effect of these programs on the poor is unclear. Moreover, they probably harm, rather than help, by assisting to destroy the viability of commercial banks and the financial discipline of the formal lending sector as a whole.