Tk 96,986cr in loans defaulted by 8,238 companies: minister

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday informed Parliament that 8,238 companies defaulted in repaying Tk 96,986.38 crore bank loans until November 2019.

He submitted a list containing names of 8,238 companies that defaulted in repaying the loans replying treasury bench MP Ahsanul Islam.

The finance minister also informed Parliament that the lending banks could not recover the defaulted loans from 4,198 companies while Tk 25,836.04 crore was recovered from the other companies.

The minister said that the list of the defaulters was prepared by the Credit Information Bureau on the basis of reports submitted by the scheduled banks and the financial institutions.

The top ten defaulting companies included Rimex Footwear Ltd, Crescent Leather Products Ltd, Rupali Composite Leather Wear Ltd, Rising Steel Ltd, Mohammad Elias Brothers (ptv) Ltd, SA Oil Refinery Ltd, Samannaz Super Oil Ltd, Quantum Power System Ltd, Alloy Coat Ltd and Galaxy Sweater and Yarn Dyeing Ltd.

Replying a supplementary question from the same MP, the finance minister said that the country’s banks had extended loans to the tune of about Tk 31,028.53 crore before until 1996, of which 32.04 per cent were classified.

He said that about Tk 2,08,362.23 crore was extended as loans from 1997 to 2008, of which 10.79 per cent became  classified.

From 2009 to September 2019, the finance minister said, Tk 9,69,882.22 crore was extended as loans of which  11.99 per cent became classified.

Responding another supplementary question from the same MP, the minister said that directors of banks took about Tk 1,73,230 crore as loans form their own and other banks during the period.

He said that the directors borrowed Tk 1,71,616 crore from other banks.

He said that directors of 25 banks took loans from their own banks while 55 banks extended loans to the directors of other banks.

No director of Rajshahi Development Bank and Bangladesh Development Bank took loans, he said.

That is directors of 55  other banks and their companies took 11.21 per cent of the total loans.

According to the minister’s statement  AB Bank Ltd directors topped the list of borrowing from own bank as they had taken Tk 90,747.82 crore as loans, constituting 3.11 per cent of the total amount lent by AB Bank.

BRAC Bank directors took the second position having borrowed Tk 36,250.64 crore as loans from their own bank, said the finance minister.

No directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd took loan from their own bank though the IBBL extended the highest amount of loans to the directors of other banks.

Islami Bank provided about Tk 1,917,574.40 crore to the directors of the other banks.

Directors of EXIM Bank Ltd did not provide any loan to its own directors but it provided about Tk 1, 051,365.76 crore as loans to the directors of the other banks.

On June 22, 2019, a list of 300 top loan defaulters was submitted in Parliament.

Responding to ruling Awami League Mp M Israfil Alam, the finance in a written reply informed Parliament then that these borrowers defaulted in repaying  Tk 50,942 crore in loans.

Replying to another question, he said that the state-owned commercial and specialized banks waived interest to the tune of Tk 1,198.24 crore on Tk 6,163in  loans in 2018.

Parliament was also informed that 300 business entities defaulted in repaying loans to the tune of Tk 50,942 crore while Tk 70,571 crore was the total defaulted loans until April 2019.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net