The country’s banking sector is now weighed down by high defaulted loans, with the defaulted-loan rate at some banks above 80 percent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised questions about how these banks continue to operate despite such a high rate of defaulted loans, and why they are not being taken into a process of liquidation or closure.
The IMF delegation raised these questions in a series of meetings with officials of various departments of Bangladesh Bank on Sunday. The organization’s representatives have come to Bangladesh on a five-day visit to begin preliminary talks on a new loan program. The program began on the first morning of the visit with an opening meeting with the governor and his team, followed by separate meetings with various departments of the finance ministry and Bangladesh Bank. The first day’s meetings were led by the IMF’s Bangladesh mission chief, Ivo Krznar.
According to sources connected to the meetings, discussions were held on various issues, including banking-sector reform, reducing defaulted loans, bank resolution, Islamic banking, foreign-exchange management and a new Tk 60,000 crore stimulus program.
Sources said the Bank Resolution Department and the Financial Sector Support and Strategic Planning wing were among those that held meetings on the issues that afternoon.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report