Tk 12,484cr loan restructuring bonanza for 15 groups, cos

Different commercial banks including state-run Janata have submitted proposals to Bangladesh Bank to restructure loans totalling Tk 12,484.50 crore of 15 corporate groups under the central bank’s large loan restructuring policy. The banks submitted the proposals to the central bank in the last two weeks of June after the boards of the respective banks approved the loan restructuring of the groups, a BB official told New Age on Wednesday. The groups and companies include Beximco Group, Jamuna Group, Thermax Group, Shikder Group, Ratanpur Group, Abdul Monem Group, Keya Group, AnonTex Group, Ibrahim Group, SA Group, BR Spinning, CanAm Group, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills Ltd, Givency Group and Nasa Group. Of the banks, Janata Bank alone submitted proposals to restructure loans worth around Tk 5,000 crore of different groups at lower interest rate. The BB earlier asked banks to submit the large loan restructuring proposal by June 30 and the majority of the groups placed the proposals in the last two weeks of the month, the official said. Experts and economists said the core objectives of the large loan restructuring policy would not be achieved if the banks do not recover the loans in line with the central bank circular. Former interim government finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told New Age on Wednesday that some of the 15 groups were habitual defaulters and they should change their habit, otherwise the objective of the large loan restructuring policy would be foiled. ‘The groups, which want to restructure loan worth more than Tk 500 crore, will be allowed to get the facility in accordance with the BB policy. I think that it is a disparity between large and small groups. The BB should expand the range so that the small groups can take the scope,’ he said. Former BB deputy governor Khondker Ibrahim Khaled told New Age that the corporate groups, which would be allowed to get the scope of the restructuring policy, would be able to take fresh loans from banks. ‘The BB should set a condition that the groups under the large loan restructuring policy will not be allowed to take fresh loan for at least two years,’ he said. The country’s financial system will face crisis if the groups default after the restructuring of their large loans, he said. The BB data showed that seven banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani, National, AB, Bank Asia and EXIM — approved proposals to restructure loans worth Tk 4,950.99 crore of BEXIMCO Group. Boards of directors of six banks — Janata, IFIC, Mutual Trust, Social Islami, Dutch-Bangla and United Commercial — approved proposals to restructure loans worth Tk 1,249 crore of Jamuna Group. Janata Bank approved proposal to restructure loans worth Tk 666.73 crore of Thermax Group. Five banks — Agrani, Pubali, Southeast, Bank Asia and Standard Bank — approved proposals to restructure loans worth Tk 879.07 crore of Keya Group. Janata Bank approved proposal to restructure loans worth Tk 1,094.48 crore of AnonTex Group. The BB issued large loan restructuring policy on January 29 for the borrowers facing financial crisis, giving a maximum period of 12 years to repay their overdue and defaulted loans for term credit with a lower rate of interest. The interest rate on the restructured loans will be set by the respective banks and the rate will be set at least one per cent plus their cost of fund for the restructured loans. For restructuring, a large borrower will have to pay minimum one per cent down payment if he or she borrowed more than Tk 1,000 crore from the banking sector while he or she will have to pay 2 per cent down payment for a loan of Tk 500 crore or less than Tk 1,000 crore. News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net