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| Wednesday, 13 November 2002 |
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Samurdhi to launch commercial bank by Uditha Kumarasinghe A new commercial bank will be set up year under the aegis of the Samurdhi Movement to provide credit facilities to small and medium scale entrepreneurs to set up their own industries, Agriculture, Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S.B. Dissanayake told the Daily News. The Ministry is preparing regulations and guidelines for the setting up of the bank. "Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has approved this," the Minister said. He said 1,000 Samurdhi Bank Societies are operating throughout the country with a membership of 1,934,700 Samurdhi beneficiary families. Hundred per cent loans released by these banks are granted to needy low income families. "However poverty cannot be alleviated by only providing loans to the poor. In order to smoothen the operation of the Samurdhi Movement, there is an urgent need to provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs at village level who lack the capital to commence industries," Dissanayake said. The Minister said with the new commercial bank setting up branches at district level, they will operate as affiliates of the Samurdhi banks. But the functions of this commercial bank will be different to other commercial banks. The prime objective of this commercial bank is to draw small and medium scale entrepreneurs to villages. "Our sole intention is to utilise entrepreneurship as a key element to alleviate rural poverty and commence small and medium scale industries in villages to provide employment for youth of low income families," Dissanayake said. The Minister said at present Samurdhi banks have deposits amounting to Rs. 10 billion. This includes Rs. 6 billion deposited by Samurdhi beneficiary families at their compulsory savings accounts and Rs. 4 billion saved by them as voluntary savings. He said: "If any institution has Rs 5,000 million, it can qualify to commence a commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Samurdhi Movement is strong and has enough capital to face this challenge. This commercial bank will pay a higher interest rate to Samurdhi beneficiaries rather than to their current interest rate." |
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