Staff Reporter :
The net sales of National Savings Certificates (NSC) dropped significantly in the first eight months (July–February) of the current financial year 2023–24 as people opted to encashing their savings amid inflationary pressure.
During the period of July–February of FY24, the net sales of savings instruments dropped by more than Tk 8,892 crore, which was also negative by Tk 3,510 crore in the same period of the previous financial year, as per the data from Bangladesh Bank.
Likewise, the substantial negative growth in net sales of national instruments continued to expand in February 2024, compared to January, suggesting a confidence deficit in these tools used for government borrowing.
The government has set the net borrowing target from savings schemes for the current financial year of FY24 at Tk18,000 crore.
The net sales of savings certificates are calculated by deducting the amount repaid for previously sold certificates from the total sales.
Experts said several factors, including mounting inflationary pressure, the financial crisis, reduced profitability in banks, and challenging investment conditions, contributed to this slide.
They also highlighted that current economic conditions are deterring individuals from investing in savings instruments.
In this regard, Md. Mezbaul Haque, executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank, said the interest rate on bank loans has been increased to control inflation. With this, the interest rate on bank deposits has also increased.
“That is why money has started entering the bank. Now the investment in saving certificates and other sectors will decrease a lot,” he added.
Currently, there are 11 government-owned savings tools on the market, four of which are savings certificates.
These include ‘Five-year Bangladesh Sanchayapatra’ (with an 11.28-per cent yield), ‘Three-monthly Profit-bearing Sanchayapatra’ (11.04 per cent), ‘Family Savings Certificate’ (11.52 per cent) and ‘Pensioner Sanchayapatra’ (11.76 per cent).
Earlier in the first month of this year, savings certificates worth Tk7,964 crore were sold. By contrast, Tk9, 251 crore was paid as interest and principal of the certificates sold earlier.
In February, Such negative growth also stood at Tk 1541 crore, up from Tk1287 crore in January, marking a nearly 20 per cent substantial decline.
Meanwhile, the central bank data also showed the total outstanding amount exceeded Tk3,58,000 crore from July to February in FY24 which was over Tk3,60, 500 crore during the same period in FY23.
