Brac Bank contributes Tk 4.54cr in Covid support

Brac Bank has initiated a special CSR programme to stand by the families affected with Covid-19 on August 1. 

The bank has recently signed an agreement with Brac, the world's largest NGO, to implement the project, said a press release.

Bangladesh Bank requested all the scheduled banks to allocate a special CSR fund equivalent to one per cent of the banks' 2020 profits.

The fund is necessitated to support with essential food or equivalent support in cash, or health and hygiene materials, or medicare of suspected Covid patients, or financial support to those who have lost their livelihood and are affected by Covid-19.

Brac Bank, accordingly, has allocated a fund of Tk 4.54 crore to support the Covid-affected families across the country.

Brac will be transferring the fund, on behalf of the bank, through mobile wallet bKash. About 30,267 families all over the country will receive emergency food support.

Each family will receive Tk 1,500 which will enable them to buy essential food and other emergency necessities for two weeks.

Some 10 districts exposed to high risk of Covid transmission and under strict lockdown will be prioritised in this initiative. The districts are Khulna, Satkhira, Bogura, Magura, Dinajpur, Natore, Joypurhat, Bagerhat, Chuadanga, and Chattogram.

"We greatly appreciate this timely support from Brac Bank. It will contribute to our initiative, Dakche Abar Desh, to bring food to the vulnerable households for whom the lockdown continues to prove particularly harsh," said Asif Saleh, executive director of Brac.

"We are thankful to Bangladesh Bank for their thoughts and guidance on supporting the Covid-affected families. We would also thank Brac for helping us in executing this enormous task, following the regulatory guidelines, to reaching out to the actual needy families," Managing Director and CEO Selim RF Hussain said.

In addition, Brac Bank employees contributed Tk 1.73 crore from their August salary as emergency food support to Brac's "Dakche Amar Desh" initiative last year.