Dhaka, June 27 (New Age): The net investment in the
national savings certificates and bonds crossed Tk 10,000 crore in the first 11
months of financial year 2013-14 as the clients invested heavily in the savings
tools due to lower rate of interest in scheduled banks’ deposit products.
According to the Directorate of National Savings data,
the net investment in the savings instruments was Tk 10,018.25 crore in
July-May of the FY14 while it was Tk 735.19 crore in the same period of the
FY13.
A DNS official told New Age on Thursday that the
premature cashing by clients also declined in the period as the five-year
savings tools, which were sold hugely in the FY10, would mature in the next
financial year.
He said that previously clients had made huge premature
cashing of their savings tools, but the trend (premature cashing) changed
significantly this fiscal year.
The DNS data showed that sales of the national savings
certificates and bonds increased by 1.26 per cent in the first 11 months of the
FY14 compared with that in the same period of the FY13.
The savings instruments worth Tk 21,656.12 crore were
sold through banks, national savings bureaus and post offices in July-May of
the FY14 whereas the total sales of NSCs in the same period in the FY13 were
worth Tk 21,384.59 crore.
The premature cashing of savings tools by clients
declined by 43.64 per cent in July-May of the FY14 compared with that in the
same period of the FY13.
Clients cashed prematurely savings instruments worth Tk
11,637.37 crore in the first 11 months of the FY14 while the figure was Tk 20,649.49
crore during the same period of the FY13.
The official said that the scheduled banks had recently
cut the interest rate of their savings products due to the increasing trend in
excess liquidity amid sluggish business.
The business people are yet to start their business
expansion by receiving loans from the banks due to political uncertainty which
pushed up the idle fund of the banks, he said.
The banks are now reluctant to take deposit from the
clients, so they cut the interest rate on their deposit products, he said.
The banks are now giving maximum 11 per cent to 12 per
cent rate of interest to the clients for the fixed deposit schemes while the
interest rate on the savings tools is between 12.59 per cent and 13.45 per
cent.
Against the backdrop, the clients have made investment
heavily in the savings certificates and bonds this financial year, the DNS
official said.
The official said that the net investment in the savings
tools might cross Tk 11,000 crore in the FY14 if the trend of lower premature cashing
continues in the last month of the outgoing
financial year.
The government in the last financial year collected only
Tk 772.84 crore or 10.44 per cent of its annual target of Tk 7,400 crore in
investment in the national savings certificates and bonds.
For this reason, the government set a lower net
investment target of Tk 4,971 crore for the FY14.
Another DNS official said that the net investment might
plunge in the coming financial year if the clients cashed their investment
prematurely like the recent fiscal years.
Besides, the banks will increase the rate of interest on
their deposit products in the coming months when the businesspeople will go to
banks to receive loans, he said.