Editorial
High powered expert enquiry needed for Sonali Bank
Ensuring impartiality is a must
In what is by far the single largest banking scam in the country involving a nationalised commercial bank (NCB), the Hallmark group managed to get Tk3,500-crore loans. The fact that only 17 midlevel officials have been suspended, where initial reports by the anti-graft body ACC puts it much higher, sends a chill down our collective spines as to where we are headed on the issue. Given the enormity of the scam, we demand a high powered enquiry committee be setup must include relevant experts familiar with banking procedures so that they can identify the loopholes in the system utilised to avail unworthy loans. The enquiry committee will identify the perpetrators, find the systemic flaws that exist in the bank's operations and offer long-term solutions. All this must be done within a specified timeframe and findings published for public scrutiny.
For its part, Bangladesh Bank which serves as the central regulatory authority for the banking sector must conduct a full audit of all banks, both state and privately-owned, for loans disbursed in excess of Tk1,000-crore to take stock of the extent of other such scams occurring in the wider financial sector. In addition, it is imperative that all Hallmark group's real assets are frozen immediately so that money already taken may be recovered.
NCB board members selected on political consideration rather than professionalism is one of the core reasons for such scams. Such appointment invariably leads to corruption when it comes to sanctioning loans and must be stopped. The question of "political patronage" of the accused group of companies has surfaced in the latest scandal and given the history of past enquiries, we are deeply concerned about the governance process as a whole in the banking sector.
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