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Banks waive penalty for delayed loan repayment
MD MEHEDI HASAN
Some banks have decided not to impose any interest or fees on clients for delayed payment of loan instalments, including that against credit cards, amidst a nationwide curfew and internet blackout.
A good number of banks are also on way to take the decision in the next one or two days.
Four local private commercial banks, BRAC Bank, City Bank, Mutual Trust Bank and Pubali Bank, and foreign lender Standard Chartered Bangladesh have already taken the decision.
Jamuna Bank Managing Director and CEO Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed confirmed to The Daily Star that they have already spoken to their chairman so that the decision could be taken.
The Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB), a forum of chief executive officers of private commercial banks, requested the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), comprising owners of banks, to take the decision taking into consideration the unavoidable circumstances at present, said industry insiders.
Issuing a notice, BRAC Bank said it took the decision against the backdrop of general holidays and internet outage and would reimburse any such interest or fee that might have been already charged.
“We took the decision as clients are facing trouble conducting online banking,” Managing Director Selim RF Hussain told this newspaper.
They have ensured that their ATM booths contain adequate cash but international transactions for export and import, remittance collections and all payments abroad are now suspended for the internet shutdown, confirmed Hussain, also the ABB chairman.
Mutual Trust Bank also has taken the same decision, confirmed Managing Director Syed Mahbubur Rahman.
Pubali Bank Managing Director Mohammad Ali said they generally do not impose such interests or fees and took the decision to refrain from imposing those as it would not have been ethical to do otherwise.
He believes the internet blackout will adversely affect the banking sector alongside the bank’s profitability.
In another notice, Standard Chartered Bangladesh said it would waive any extra fees, charges or interest on credit cards or loans incurred for repayment delays. It added that its ATM network was active.
Top Bangladesh Bank officials spoke to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to ensure broadband internet for banks, said a senior central bank official seeking anonymity.
Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed of Jamuna Bank told The Daily Star that the central bank assured them of talking to government stakeholders to reconnect banks with broadband internet.
“We came to know that the central bank is going to meet with the BTRC to restart broadband internet of banks as soon as possible,” said Selim RF Hussain.
Around $80 million to $100 million in remittances are sent to Bangladesh on a regular day, which was disrupted for the internet shutdown, he said.
Amidst the internet shutdown and nationwide curfew, people have been unable to conduct online banking since July 18. A lot of ATM booths have been kept shut while others have run out of cash.