Disbursement of agricultural loans by banks reached 73.91 per cent of the annual target in the first ten months of the current financial year.
Bangladesh Bank officials said that although the banks had increased disbursement in last two months following the central bank’s warning of punitive action, the banks might not achieve the annual target because of tight money supply situation and reluctance of some banks to release loans. 
According to the latest provisional data released by Bangladesh Bank on Sunday, state-owned, private and foreign commercial banks, and the specialised banks from July to April of FY2011-12 collectively disbursed Tk 10,200.27 crore in farm loans against the annual disbursement target of Tk 13,800 crore.
Agricultural loans disbursed by the banks in the same period of previous financial year totalled Tk 9,652 crore, or 81.48 per cent of the annual target of Tk 12,617.40 crore in farm credit.
A BB official told New Age on Sunday that although loan disbursement in first eight months of the current fiscal year was lower than the same period of the last year, the disbursement picked up slightly after BB warned that it would cut the same amount of non-disbursed farm loans from the banks’ deposit money with the central bank at the end of the FY2011-12.
BB warned that the failed banks will get an interest of 5 per cent for their amount, a much lower rate than traditional interest rate.
As a result, the agriculture loan disbursement in the first ten months of the current financial year increased by 5.67 per cent compared to that of the same period of FY2010-11, he said.
The officials said BB had already held two meetings with commercial banks on April 23 and 25 in this regard.  
BB data showed that the state-owned commercial banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali and the two specialised banks, Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank — in the first ten months of the current financial year had disbursed Tk 6,728.41 crore in farm loans or 79.06 per cent of their annual disbursement target of Tk 8,510 crore.
In July to April of FY2010-11, the six banks had disbursed Tk 7,219.55 crore, or 6.80 per cent higher from that in the same period of FY2011-12.
The PCBs and the FCBs disbursed Tk 3,471.85 crore in agriculture loans in July to April of FY2011-12, which was 65.63 per cent of their total annual disbursement target of Tk 5,290 crore. 
In the same period of the previous financial year, they disbursed 67.01 per cent of their annual target of the agriculture lending.
BB data showed 14 banks in July to April of the current financial year disbursed below 50 per cent farm loans of their annual target, ignoring the stern warnings by the BB.
The Banks are— Rupali Bank, Standard Chattered Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, Premier Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, Dhaka Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, EXIM Bank, First
Security Islami Bank, Jamuna Bank, Prime Bank, Southeast Bank, Standard Bank and United Commercial Bank.