‘Quack’ remedy helps defaulters on loan: seminar
Speakers at a seminar on Saturday demanded appointing a commission as ‘quack remedies’ in the name of checking bad loans were only helping wilful defaulters to plunder more money from the ailing banking sector and smuggling those out of the country.
They also demanded restoration of democracy and freedom of speech against the backdrop of killing of BUET student Abrar Fahad by the ruling party student front leaders while establishment of good governance in the key financial sector instead of ‘quack remedies’ introduced by businessman-turned finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The speakers comprising of bankers, politicians, bureaucrats, right activists and teachers, however, expressed doubt about any tough measure to recover bad loans by the current political regime since prime minister Sheikh Hasina has appointed Salman F Rahman, one of the country’s top loan defaulters, as her adviser and allowed the alleged mastermind of BASIC Bank’s scam Abdul Hye Bacchu go scot-free.
They bewailed the fact that over 60 per cent member of the current parliament was businessman while speaking at the seminar organised by Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik, well-known as Sujan, at the National Press Club in the capital.
Former Chittagong University economics department teacher Mainul Islam presented the keynote paper featuring reasons for growing defaulted loans and possible measures for solving the chronic problems.
Besides, a commission, Mainul recommended nine other measures including appointing an ombudsman, debt recovery agency, easing money-loan court’s rule for selling off mortgaged property, arresting 10 top defaulters of every bank, dissolution of financial institutions division, merger of weak banks, collection of capital from stocks and stopping of insider lending for recovering bad loan.
He calculated that the amount of bad loan will be close to Taka 3 lakh crore although the current political regime is trying to suppress the actual fact by various means.
He criticised finance minister Mustafa Kamal for applying ‘quack remedies’ including changing definitions of bad loans, relaxing loan write-off rules, allowing restructuring of bad loan with only two per cent down payment, statement not to send businessmen to jail and allowing 11 errant defaulters including BEXIMCO Group to reschedule bad loan for showing improvement in bad loan situation.
He said nine months elapsed since the present government was re-elected through the most controversial general polls in the country’s history in December 2018, but there was no sign of fulfilling the longstanding demand of commission on the banking sector.
Thanking Mainul for his bold presentation, former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled said political power had polarised the business community because of unequal distribution of high economic gain.
He said Mustafa Kamal is not a professional like his processors Shah AMS Kibria and M Saifur Rahman while shedding critical light on the minister’s capacity to run the economy.
‘He is a friend of Salman F Rahman, one of the top loan defaulters, and a mastermind behind the share market scams,’ he said.
Former Agrani Bank managing director Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed said that appointment of directors to the state-owned banks on political consideration since 2009 aggravated the bad loan situation in the banking sector.
He said the politically appointed directors played the role of brokers and extracted 6 to 7 per cent of loans sanctioned for the borrowers.
He said enforcement of rules and regulations is must to solve the problem in the banking sector.
Sujan member Syed Abul Maksud said he was not surprised at all to see that arrangements of writing-off bad loans by the present government since people’s right to vote was written-off in the last general election.
Among others, former state minster for information Abu Sayeed, former bureaucrat Enam Ahmed Chowdhury, BNP’s reserved seat MP-elect Rumeen Farhana, CPB leader Abdullah Al Kafee Ratan, Dhaka University Development Studies’ teacher Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir took part in the discussion.
Kafee Ratan said every wilful loan defaulter had homes outside the country.
He said three important portfolios — finance, commerce and food — are held by businessman.
Rumeen Farhana said she was pessimistic about the capacity of the present government to ensure good governance in the banking sector since Abdul Hye Bacchu was said to be very close of the PM.
He said politics became a big business as even a third tier of ruling party leader can become multimillionaire overnight while indicating Awami League youth front leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat and his casino business.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
