Margin loan interest 12%: Effective from next January

The interest rate on margin loans for capital market investors is 12 percent. It will be effective from July this year. However, this is not true. The 12 per cent interest rate on margin loans will be effective from January 1, 2022. This information has been known from BSEC and DSE sources.

A meeting was held on January 27 with BSEC top brokers and merchant banks. At that time they requested to extend its term by one year. At the request of merchant banks and brokerage houses, the BSEC has decided to extend the time limit by 6 months. Today, April 27, 2021, the BSEC may issue a directive.

Senior officials of BSEC and DSE, who did not want to be named, told Sunnybody that there is a kind of negative publicity in the market about the 12 percent interest rate on margin loans. It is said to be effective from July. The matter is not true. It will be effective from January next year.

Earlier, on January 13, the 757th meeting of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) set a maximum interest rate of 12% on margin loans. Stock brokers and merchant banks will be able to charge an additional maximum 3% spread with the cost of funds from the customer as opposed to the margin loan provided. But in no case will the margin interest rate be more than 12 percent.

Sunbd/NJ