Dhaka, Sept. 17 -- Bangladesh Bank (BB) has fixed the maximum interest rate at 7 percent for loans under the Tk20,000 crore pre-refinance scheme aimed at reopening closed industrial and service sector enterprises.

The central bank also introduced a six-month grace period on loan disbursements, during which no interest can be collected from borrowers.

The directive was issued through a circular on Thursday (September 17). It specifies that the recovery of interest, including the accrued interest from the first two quarters, will commence only after the six-month grace period ends.

This circular follows two previous directives issued on June 4 and July 7, which established the "Closed Industrial and Service Sector Support Pre-Refinance S...