The defaulted loans with four nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) totalled Tk 10.726.57 crore till May this year. Finance Minister SAMS Kibria told the J a Liya Sangsad yesterday.
Besides. Tk 8796.67 crore was recovered in cash and Tk 2890.40 crore was rescheduled since the present government set up task forces tn Bangladesh Bank and the commercial banks in December 1996. he said replying to a question from Panna kaiser of the ruling Awami League.
This huge amount of defaulted bank loans was accumulated over the years. The government had taken various measures to realise those and stop recurrence of such prac-
tices in future, he said.
Speaking of the defaulted loan recovery drive, he said task forces headed by the MDs had been formed in the commercial banks and one in the central bank in Dhaka to monitor the progress.
Besides, the minister added, task forces formed in different regional offices of the central bank were also conducting defaulted loan recovery drives in different regions of the country.
About legal measures, he said, the government had brought about necessary amendments to the Money Loan Court Act. the Bank Company Act and the Bankruptcy Act to expedite the recovery of loans.
Special directives had been
given to the MDs of banks to recover loans of Tk one crore a nd above. Klbria further said. All these steps had a positive impact in recovering defaulted loans and checking fresh lo in default, he claimed.
To a supplementary question, the finance minister replied that no fresh law wiis needed to deal with the loan d •-faulters because the existing forgery law was enough for thl s.
Asked if the governme nt would take any step for speet ly trial of the loan defaulting cases, he said it had nothing to do once the cases went to the court. "But we sometimes lobl jy for expediting the process of trial".
The finance minister seem id embarrassed when BNP lawmaker Mashlur Rahman drew his attention to a press report yesterday that a leading business house (without naming Beximco) managed to get loat is from a foreign bank with the Sonali Bank giving unconditional guarantee despite its d e-faulted loans of crores of taka .
As the Opposition MP asked about government action against the company. Klbria told the House that it was t hte previous BNP governme nt which offered various Incentives Including rescheduling of loans to that particular company. leading to the huge amount of defaulted bank loans.
"They're now agitated seeing the outcome of their misdeed.s . the minister told the shoutiiig
BNP lawmakers.
"Banking rules are now being strictly applied and it will also be done in this case", he announced.
Responding to another question. Klbria said defaulted loans affect the national economy in a number of ways. These limit money circulation, create liquidity crisis in the banks, reduce mobility in bank transactions and Investment opportunities, bring down profit of the banks and discourage the borrowers who are not defaulters.