Bangladesh NGO gets syndicated loan for flood relief

DHAKA, Aug 29 (Reuters) Bangladesh's leading non-government organisation BRAC will get a 18 million dollar loan arranged by Citigroup for its flood relief programme.

''The 1.23 billion taka backstopped facility, coordinated by Citibank, is the first such facility ever done for a micro-finance institution globally,'' a joint statement said late yesterday.

BRAC is the world's largest national non-government organisation with more than five million borrowers.

''This solution underlines Citi's commitment towards supporting the cause of micro-finance globally and the post-flood rehabilitation program in Bangladesh,'' the statement quoted BRAC Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed as saying.

''We will expand and broaden access to finance for micro-finance institutions such as BRAC not all on our own, but through alliance partners, including other commercial banks, investors and large commercial networks working to provide services to the majority in our communities,'' said Sanjoy Nayar, Citigroup's South Asia head.

Citibank directly provided 710 million taka, and four local banks have jointly extended the remaining 520 million taka.

A preliminary report by the agriculture ministry said crops including rice, jute and vegetables worth about 88 million dollar have been damaged by this year's flood.

The losses could be higher when the floods, which have killed more than 700 people, fully recede, officials said.

The World Bank has said Bangladesh's economic growth in the current fiscal year (July-June) could fall to 6.8 per cent from the targeted 7.0 per cent because of the flood, while inflation and the budget deficit may go up.

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