Husne Ara Shikha, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, said that earlier the information on defaulted loans was hidden, but now efforts are being made to reveal all the hidden information.
According to the information, the defaulted loans are of Tk 4 lakh crores or more. If the full information comes to light, the actual amount of defaulted loans may exceed Tk 6 lakh crores. The banks are being audited and steps to reduce it will be announced after receiving the actual information on defaulters.
She said this at a press conference on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said that in the last five months, the central bank has restructured the boards of commercial banks, formed a banking task force, and taken several initiatives on dollar market stability and inflation control. Some benefits have been achieved through this; some results will take more time to be achieved. But the financial sector has not yet fully stabilized. So Bangladesh Bank is not very happy. However, financial fears have been overcome.
In response to journalists' questions, the spokesperson said, “By the end of 2025, it will be clear how much money has been laundered through which bank to which country. Bringing back the laundered money is a time-consuming process. The designated agencies are working on the issue. They do not share these issues with us for security reasons.”
When asked about inflation, she said, "We have already increased the policy interest rate several times to control inflation. We hope that inflation will come down in January. If not, the interest rate may be increased again." However, businessmen are not happy about this at all as they have to pay additional interest on bank loans. Investment also slowed down.”
Therefore, she believes that other agencies, along with the central bank, need to work properly.
“Interest rates are not the only factor responsible for the decline in investment. Many other things, including infrastructure development, energy supply, and communication systems, are related to the increase in investment. Therefore, it is not possible to completely reduce inflation with the sole efforts of the central bank,” she added.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
