Bad loans stand at Tk 5.45 lakh crore

The total defaulted loans in the banking sector reached Tk 5.45 lakh crore at the end of last year, said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday.

The amount is four times the total project cost of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, Bangladesh’s most expensive project.

In his response to a query from National Citizen Party MP Hasnat Abdullah, Khosru also provided a list of the top 20 loan defaulters, with nine of them being subsidiaries of the controversial Chattogram-based sprawling conglomerate S Alam Group.

The nine S Alam companies are S Alam Super Edible Oil, S Alam Vegetable Oil, S Alam Refined Sugar Industries, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, Sonali Traders, Global Trading Corporation, Chemon Ispat, S Alam Trading Company, and Infinite CR Strips Industries.

The other defaulters in the list are Bangladesh Export Import Company (Beximco), Keya Cosmetics, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills, PowerPac Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant, PowerPac Mutiara Jamalpur Power Plant, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, Karnafuly Foods, Murad Enterprise, CLC Power Company, Beximco Communications and Rongdhanu Builders.

Loans involving current members of parliament and their related entities amount to Tk 11,117.31 crore.

“It is to be noted that as per the directions of the court, the total amount of defaulted loans of Tk 3,330.08 crore has not been shown as defaulted.”

Outlining steps to recover defaulted loans, Khosru said the government is holding quarterly meetings with senior management of banks where classified loans exceed 10 percent to identify obstacles to recovery and resolve them.

Progress in recovering loans from top defaulters is being reviewed at each bankers’ meeting organised by the Bangladesh Bank.

The central bank has also formulated guidelines for resolving classified loans in banks with high default rates.

In addition, a policy has been introduced to identify wilful defaulters and take action against them under the Banking Companies (Amendment) Act.

Banks have been instructed to strengthen their legal departments and set targets to recover at least 1 percent of their defaulted loan balances in cash by June 30 using Alternative Dispute Resolution, Khosru said.

The government has taken different steps to resolve the problem of defaulted loans, such as the amendment of existing laws like the Bank Company Act, Negotiable Instrument Act, Money Laundering Court Act, Bankruptcy Act, etc.

The short-term agricultural loan rescheduling policy is being reviewed and updated, while the list of defaulters and wilful defaulters will be published.

The existing policies regarding incentives for those who repay loans regularly will be reviewed, while good borrowers will be identified with the aim of developing a better credit culture in the country.

The maximum limit for borrowing by a borrower from the entire banking sector will be set.

Steps also include taking initiatives for necessary legal reforms to impose some of the measures taken for wilful defaulters on defaulting borrowers as well; inclusion of experienced bankers in the judge panel/jury board of the money lending court; taking necessary measures in consultation with the Attorney General to ensure that defaulting borrowers cannot stall debt collection activities by filing writs; and enact necessary legislation to establish Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in the private sector.