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SAVING BANKING SECTOR

Muhith to prepare roadmap for successor

Star Business Report
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will leave a roadmap for his successor in the next government to salvage the ailing banking sector - an incongruity seeing that the sector deteriorated during his two consecutive terms.
During his tenure, a number of big scams took place in the banking sector, a well-run state-owned bank -BASIC - turned into a flagging one, and a new bank - Farmers - that got permission became an ailing one within a few years of establishment.
"I intend to leave a kind of report (about the banking sector) sometime in November... I myself will prepare it with the assistance of the staff in my office," he said in a meeting with the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) at his secretariat office yesterday.
However, he did not give much detail on the type of report he will leave behind.
One of his recommendations will be immediate action against any bank found to have default loans of a certain percentage. "10 percent or whatever," Muhith said.
"Loan default is a matter of shame for an individual. Somehow we don't have the shame... very unfortunate," he said, adding that the report will inform on his experi-
ence as the country's finance minister for ten years.
In the meeting, IBFB President Humayun Rashid voiced out some of the problems they face in conducting their business.
He proposed tax relief on the money spent on research work by investors. He also suggested formation of a high-powered body involving the private sector or the IBFB members for monitoring the implementation of large projects.
Lutfunnisa Saudia Khan, director of Bangla Phone and member of the IBFB, said they have set up Bangla Phone network in the country by investing their own money and without taking any loan from banks.
They have set up 20,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable all over the country.
Bangla Phone provides networking facility to 48 banks and many government establishments. All on a sudden, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has directed them to stop their business upon an allegation that they do not have any licence.
In response, the finance minister said he would look into the matter after consulting the ministry concerned.
QUOTA ISSUE
Quizzed, Muhith said the government does not have any plan to take any step to keep out children of anti-liberation ele-
ments from public service.
'Maybe their parents committed a crime but the children cannot be held responsible for that. They are the citizens ofthe country.”
In response to another question, he said the prime minister's assessment is that the voices of those against the quota system are getting louder than of those in support of it. 'So, the quota system will be abolished,' he said, adding that he recommended to the PM to keep quota for women.