Distressed Bank Assets Surge to Tk 4.87 Lakh Crore

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for immediate action to accurately estimate and reduce Bangladesh's non-performing loans (NPLs), which threaten the country's financial stability. Chris Papageorgiou, IMF Mission Chief for Bangladesh, emphasized that NPLs—unpaid loans—restrict the availability of funds for new lending, posing significant risks to the financial system.

Former Samabaya Bank chairman Mohiuddin Ahmed is implicated in the disappearance of over 13,000 bhori of gold that borrowers deposited as collateral with the state-run bank. A case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) indicates that 5,803 bhori were deposited by Narayanganj Cooperative Credit Limited and 7,398 bhori by 2,316 individual borrowers.

Prime Bank PLC recently signed a payroll agreement with Northern Corporation Ltd. at the bank’s corporate office. Under this agreement, Northern Corporation employees will enjoy preferential banking services from Prime Bank, including credit card and loan facilities, along with automated salary processing via the Prime Pay digital portal for seamless salary and corporate payments.

Businesses in Bangladesh are increasingly concerned about bank loan interest rates reaching 14%, fearing that double-digit rates will raise operational costs and diminish profitability. During a seminar hosted by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, leaders emphasized that no country can thrive under such high-interest conditions, which deter foreign direct investment (FDI) and hamper employment generation.

Small entrepreneurs play a significant role in keeping the economy active, with the highest loan repayment rates among micro-loan recipients. The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises hold 22% of loans, totaling BDT 203,930 crore. Middle-income earners, who take loans of up to BDT 1 crore for homes and cars, account for 5.63% of loans, amounting to BDT 89,844 crore.

Before the last parliamentary elections, an account named Mostak Traders was opened at Union Bank's Banani branch on November 15, 2022, with an initial deposit of approximately 255.7 million taka through 17 transactions. By January 9, 2024, cash withdrawals from this account totaled around 720 million taka, primarily from the Gulshan branch, before the account was closed on August 20. Notably, a loan of 550 million taka was issued to Mostak Traders, which has since defaulted. Information related to the account has been deleted from the bank's online database.