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State banks press BB to relax lending cap

Reiaul Karim Byron
State-owned commercial banks are pressurising the central bank to raise their lending ceiling, which they deem to be too restrictive for their activities.
The lending cap was imposed earlier this year to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded the government take actions against the four banks' spiralling default loans, should it wish to access $ 1 billion credit.
The banks' default loans in 2012 rose 135 percent year-on-year to Tk 21,614 crore, due to scams and irregularities, according to BBdata.
However, the banks have been complaining that the ceiling has
been seriously curtailing their lending activities, even though they are sitting on excess liquidity.
The issue was discussed in a meeting on Wednesday attended by representatives of BB, Sonali and Janata Bank, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
"Merely applying interests on those outstanding loanstakes us past the cap. It leaves little to no room to provide new loans," said the managing director of a state-owned commercial bank upon conditions of anonymity.
The lending cap means Sonali Bank's loan portfolio in 2013 cannot increase beyond 8 percent, lanata Bank's 12 percent and Agrani and Rupa 1 i's 10 percent. In 2011, the growth was capped at 15 percent.
As of June 30, their default loans stand at Tk 23,852 crore, up 8 percent from December 31,2012.
Muhith inquired about the varying upper limits and asked if a uniform ceiling could be imposed across the four banks.
Due to the precarious political situation, the real investors are less interested in taking out loans now,
a BB official said, preferring not to be named.
"It is the loan defaulters that are putting pressure. They want to get loans by any means." However, were the banks to cross the ceiling to lend to a party with sound repayment record, it would be excused, he added.
"But the cap could not be compromised at will, as any blanket deviation could become a hurdle in getting loans from the IMF."
Meanwhile, the poor performance by the four banks in IMF's diagnostic tests in June suggests the lending ceiling is unlikely to be raised—rather they would be tightened.
A finance ministry official said the multilateral lender has been insisting that the lower ceilings be applied as early as next month.