Facilitating access of financial instruments of local banks to fishermen will be a major step towards the fishing industry of the country, the Minister of State for Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Dr Amzath Ahmed has said.
Government has facilitated local fishermen to access Bank of Maldives’ (BML) financial facilities.
This will enable fishermen registered on the National Fishermen’s Register to access a variety of credit facilities, including personal financing, credit cards, and home loans, based on their income.
Speaking during PSM News’ ‘Raajje Miadhu’ programme, Dr Amzath said around 95 percent of the fishing vessels in the country have already entered the national register, adding that the opportunity is still open for the remaining vessels.
Amzath acknowledged the lack of access to credit facilities of financial institutions had been a long standing concern of local fishermen. He assured that efforts are underway to facilitate access to other facilities and services to ensure much needed social security for local fishermen.
"We have taken the most important first step to develop the fishing industry. It means that we can cross this barrier and then for the individual development of fishermen they can also build houses, get loans and their standard of living will hopefully be better than before,” Amzath explained.
Speaking during the programme, BML’s Head of Brand and Marketing Strategy Mohamed Saeed said the bank will differentiate between salaried employees and the income of a fisherman when reviewing loan applications.
According to Saeed, BML will review the total annual deposits into the account of fishermen to determine the credit limit.
"In the past, we also got a lot of complaints for rejecting credit applications despite favourable income throughout the year. But we had no way of knowing it was a fisherman as we don't get that information from any government agency. The fishermen have qualified for a loan and a credit card,” Saeed explained.
“But now, through this arrangement, fishermen have got very good opportunities and access to all bank financing facilities, including loans and credit cards that most salaried employees are eligible for.”
Under the new arrangement, eligible fishermen can access personal financing up to USD 19,455 without collateral or equity requirements.
In addition to personal financing, once registered on the National Fishermen’s Register, fishermen will also be able to apply for Home Build Financing, Home Purchase Financing and Home Construction Financing.
Repayment schedules will be structured considering seasonal variations in fishing income, BML had said.
The incumbent government has initiated several initiatives to address the concerns of local fishermen.
The national fishermen's registry was established to promote financial inclusion and empowerment of local fishermen.