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Saifur asks NCBs to tag lending with recovery

SHAHRIAR KARIM
Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday asked the nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) to tighten their leash on lending.
Saifur told the banks at a meeting on 'new lending policy' that lending should be proportionate to loan recovery, according to sources.
He also asked Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank, to frame a
new lending guideline in consultation with the NCBs which have more than 28 per cent nonperforming loans.
The finance minister's instruction came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a condition that that the NCBs should stop fresh lending if Bangladesh is to get US$1.80 billion poverty reduction growth facility (PRGF) loan.
BB Governor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Finance Secretary Zakir
Ahmed Khan, deputy governors of the BB and managing directors of the four NCBs --Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali--attended the meeting.
Saifur also asked the NCBs to reduce their lending rate and make the management more dynamic and efficient.
"No business can be profitable if it has to pay 14 per cent interests on bank loans. The banks have to make their lending efficient," Saifur told newsmen after the meeting.
He also suggested to the NCBs to make a prudent decision on the direction of lending and focus on priority sectors, the meeting sources said.
He also asked the NCBs to 'immediately' write off debts classified as bad for over five years as per the guideline the central bank framed in January.
But, he said, before writing off the bad debts the banks should file cases against the defaulters with the Artha Rin Adalat (financial loan court) and continue efforts to recover them.
The minister also told the NCBs to accelerate the process of closing down the loss-making branches 'warding off all sorts of political or any other pressure', the meeting sources said.
On the IMF's suggestion for privatising at least one NCB, the minister said the central bank may discuss the matter with the NCBs.
"It's not necessary that the banks would have to offload all shares. If a bank offloads 25 per cent shares, it would benefit the bank as well as revitalise the capital market," he told the newsmen.
He also said the banking sector cannot survive anywhere in the world incurring financial losses for years on end.