Almost 90pc of Tk 2,254cr loan to Sikder Group sours
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Tk 260.27 crore to two companies of the business group without any collateral, with Tk 438.46 crore now outstanding.
The Dhanmondi branch disbursed Tk 174.92 crore without collateral; its outstanding amount is Tk 238.56 crore.
The Dilkusha branch disbursed Tk 103.04 crore against Tk 54.85 crore collateral value; its dues now stand at Tk 228.70 crore, the inspection report showed.
The Banani branch disbursed Tk 150 crore to Sikder Group against Tk 11.11 crore as collateral value; the outstanding amount is Tk 248.73 crore. It issued nine bank guarantees worth Tk 153.80 crore to the group against only Tk 8.69 crore as margin.
As per Credit Risk Management guidelines for banks introduced by the Bangladesh Bank, the bank was supposed to obtain invoices related to the purpose of the loans or investment before disbursing the amount. Besides, the lender must ensure that the loans are being used for the approved purposes.
However, FSIB -- whose board consisted of five members of the S Alam family until September -- did not follow this, as per the report.
A bank can take legal action against borrowers to recover the money as per the central bank circular. In practice, FSIB waived the interest of Sikder Group.
This activity went against depositor interest, the inspection report said.
The inspection found that the loans or investment accounts of the borrower were not properly classified and the lender did not report to the credit information bureau in line with the guidelines of the central bank.
It also found that the loans or investments were disbursed without adequate collateral and in some cases, scheduled properties were not mortgaged against the sanction letter and in some cases, the mortgaged properties accepted by the bank as collateral were overvalued.
The bank issued pay orders in favour of companies of the group for the purchase of Murabaha investment without confirming the actual purchase and sale, which is a violation of Shariah compliance.
It repeatedly extended the tenure of the loans and repayment period and grace period for the client --without following any rules and regulations.
The illegal loan facility to Sikder Group, whose director Parveen Haque Sikder was an AL MP, was provided in exchange for an interest waiver facility to S Alam Group from the National Bank, The Daily Star has learnt from FSIB officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly on the issue.
As many as 169 current and former officials of FSIB were directly involved in the loan’s irregularities related to the Sikder Group, according to the inspection report.
In 2021, the ailing National Bank, then controlled by the Sikder family, waived Tk 2,283 crore as interest on the loans of eight companies of the S Alam Group.
As of September, the total outstanding loans of FSIB stood at Tk 60,272.17 crore. Of the sum, Tk 12,948.13 crore has become defaulted, which is 21.48 percent of its disbursed loans, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.
The majority loans of were taken out by S Alam Group, whose chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam was also the chairman of FSIB until September.
Mohammad Abdul Mannan, who succeeded Alam as FSIB’s chairman in September, declined to comment on the issue.
FSIB Managing Director Syed Waseque Md Ali and Sikder Group directors Parveen Haque Sikder and Rick Haque Sikder could not be reached for comment.