Banks are being aggressive in lending, which is risky for the sector, speakers said at a workshop yesterday.
"Banks are lending aggressively; they are even buying loans from each other,” said Yasin Ali, professor of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), addressing a workshop on the latest monetary policy statement at BIBM office.
He said such aggressive lending activities are dangerous and put the market at risk.
Md Akhtaruzzaman, economic adviser of Bangladesh Bank, said the new monetary policy will enable the private sector to take huge loans from the banking sector.
He said the credit target set in the monetary policy will be enough to attain more than 7 percent economic growth.
The private sector can take loans between Tk 20,000 crore and Tk 30,000 crore from the banks as the government is not taking loans according to its target, he added.
Private sector credit growth exceeded 15 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year, a three-year high but within the fiscal 2017 target of 16.5 percent, according to central bank data. The new monetary policy set the target for private sector credit growth unchanged at 16.5 percent for fiscal 2017.
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New Boeing aircraft joins US-Bangla fleet
Star Business Report
US-Bangla Airlines has added a new Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet to ensure smooth operation of its flights, especially on international routes.
The new aircraft, which arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from China on Wednesday, will allow the private carrier to spread its wings to another international destination.
On March 9, it will start flying from Dhaka to Singapore, which will be the fifth overseas destination for US-Bangla.
The airline has always focused on elevating the standards of service to international levels, said Mohammed Abdullah Al Mamun, managing director of the carrier, in a statement. "Our next goal is to become the best airline in Asia. We have already received the best airline title for domestic operations."
US-Bangla now operates flights from Dhaka to Kathmandu, Kolkata, Muscat and Kuala Lumpur. It plans to add new routes to Bangkok, Doha and Guangzhou this year.
The addition of the aircraft took the number of Boeing 737-800 at US-Bangla to three. It also has three Dash-8Q400 aircraft in its fleet.
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Although the International Monetary Fund forecasted Bangladesh's economic growth at 6.9 percent and the World Bank at 6.8 percent for the current fiscal year, the growth will surpass 7 percent, Akhtaruzzaman said.
Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, former managing director of Pubali Bank, said the central bank warned the banks not to divert money into the capital market. "This is a good decision."