Eid nears, NBFI depositors still await refunds

Abdul Momen Chowdhury, a retired government official, invested all his savings in Aviva Finance and Prime Finance -- Tk 1.8 crore together with his wife. The 87-year-old suffers from serious health complications. But for the last six months, he has been unable to access his money at the struggling institutions.

The problem compounded last December, when the central bank announced plans to liquidate both institutions, along with seven other non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).

The institutions are: Aviva Finance, Prime Finance, FAS Finance, Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company, Premier Leasing, Fareast Finance, GSP Finance, People’s Leasing, and International Leasing.

Former Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Ahsan H Mansur said in January that even if the institutions were liquidated, individual depositors might get their principal amounts back before Eid.

That hope has yet to materialise.

“I earned well during my career, but at this stage of life, I have to depend on money sent by my daughters living abroad to pay for my medical treatment,” Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

He had hoped things would take a turn for the better if an elected government came to power. The new government has come, but is yet to take any steps to that end.

“The government is distributing family cards, yet no steps are being taken to ensure that we get our deposits back,” he said.

He last received interest payments in September last year. “I heard that Bangladesh Bank would arrange repayment for depositors before Eid, but with the festival just days away, we have yet to receive any update,” he said.

Chowdhury is one of over 3,000 depositors waiting for refunds from nine struggling NBFIs that BB decided to wind up or restructure under the newly enacted Bank Resolution Ordinance 2025 -- the country’s first comprehensive framework for resolving failing banks and NBFIs.

Together, the nine NBFIs hold deposits worth Tk 15,370 crore, including Tk 3,525 crore from individual depositors and Tk 11,845 crore from banks and corporate clients, according to BB data.

After reviewing the NBFIs in January, the regulator decided to liquidate six: FAS Finance, Premier Leasing, Fareast Finance, Aviva Finance, People’s Leasing, and International Leasing. Prime Finance, GSP Finance, and BIFC were given three to six months to improve their financial health.

But the refund process has stalled. The central bank is awaiting Tk 3,500 crore from the finance ministry to begin repaying depositors. Once received, the liquidation can proceed, says officials.

The new government, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), took office on February 17, ended Mansur’s tenure, and appointed businessman Md Mostaqur Rahman as the new governor on February 26.

Rahman has yet to speak to journalists but said through the central bank spokesperson that reform initiatives started during Mansur’s tenure, including the liquidation of struggling NBFIs, will continue.

Meanwhile, depositors continue to suffer. Minhajul Huda, 75, who relies on rental income and stock market investments, had deposited Tk 2.75 crore in Prime Finance.

After putting his lifetime savings into the institution, Huda is now facing serious hardship and is struggling to cover his children’s education expenses.

His son, Inzamamul Huda, visits Prime Finance’s head office regularly in the hope of recovering the money.

“Forget repayment -- the officials of the institution have now become aggressive in their attitude. Even after meeting the managing director and chairman of Prime Finance, we found no solution,” he told The Daily Star.