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Top 20 defaulters make NCBs sweat

4 state-owned banks recover only Tk 16cr of Tk 2,819cr stuck-up loans last year

REJAUL KARIM BYRON
Despite various government steps, the four nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) recovered only Tk 16 crore in calendar year 2003 out ofTk2,819 crore default loans lying withtheirtop20loandefaulters.
In such asituation, the Bangladesh Bank
(BB) yesterday spelled out some corrective measures for bringing the loan defaulters to book.
The BB has instructed the NCBs to furnish it with lists of such cases that have remained unresolved for more than six months at the money loan courts. On
receivingthelists,thecentralbankwillconsult thelawministryandtakefurtherlegalactions againstthelistedloandefaulters.
At a meeting with the NCBs, presided over by BB Governor Fakhruddin Ahmed, the central bank yesterday reviewed their performance. These banks had signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) withtheBBonasetofperformancecriteriain June2003.
BB deputy governors Nazrul Huda and MohammadARumiAli and chiefoperating officers ofthe NCBs also attended the meeting, which reportedly was alarmed by
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the fact of a huge sum of loans disbursed by the fourbanks from 1999 to 2002 being defaulted.
In the last calendar year, the NCBs recovered Tk 1,736 crore out ofa total outstanding loan ofTk 38,495 crore. Of the recovered sum, Tk 647 crore was classified loans, out of a total outstanding amount ofTk 10,634 crore.
From its top 20 loan defaulters, who owe Sonali Bank Tk 1,555 crore, it could recover only Tk 11 crore in 2003.
The same year, Agrani Bank could recover onlyTk 3.5 crore from its top 20 defaulters out of a total of Tk 565-crore default loans. Janata Bank got back a meagre Tk 2.3 crore from its top defaulters, who owe it Tk 517 crore, while Rupali Bank drew a blank from its top 20 defaulters, who have Tk 182-crore default loans from the bank lyingwith them.
The central bank yesterday told the NCBs that it would extend its one-year MoU with them forsixmonths more, up to December thisyear.
It also asked them to submit to it their loan recovery targets involving the top 20 defaulters as well as others. The targets will be incorporated into the MoU.
Expressing his concerns over the new loan defaults, Fakhruddin Ahmed asked the NCBs to haltthe trend.
Of the newly disbursed loans, over 9 percent of loans given by Sonali Bank in 1999 and 2000 and over 11 percent by Agrani Bank in 2000 were defaulted. Loans distributed by Janata Bank and Rupali Bank however have a much lower defaulting percentage.