AKM Zamir Uddin

Internet banking transactions have surged in recent months as people increasingly embraced the digital mode while opting not to visit branches.

In a baffling move, the Bangladesh Bank has asked Premier Leasing & Finance Ltd not to officially release its managing director, Abdul Hamid Mia, although he has submitted a resignation letter.

Bangladesh’s image will shine out amidst the global community on the back of the United Nations recommendation for its status graduation from a least-developed country to a developing nation.

In his famous book titled “The Old Man and The Sea”, US writer Ernest Hemingway said, “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

The passing of Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled will create a vacuum in the country’s financial industry for he was outspoken when it came to raising a bold voice against scammers in banks.

At a time when raising voice against financial scammers is challenging given the immense influence enjoyed by the vested quarter, Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled took a bold stance against swindlers in the banking sector. He became a torchbearer by way of giving his valuable recommendations to protect financial institutions from delinquent borrowers.

The High Court yesterday came down heavily on a section of Bangladesh Bank officials over their alleged links with financial scams involving People’s Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (PLFSL), a non-bank financial institution.

The chairman of a non-banking financial institution, central bank officials, and an audit firm are giving different statements about a scam involving Tk 6.5 crore.

Loan repayments by farmers have gone up significantly in the first seven months of this fiscal year as the farm sector that already has a sound credit history emerged almost unscathed from the devastating fallouts of the pandemic.

Proshanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder had played tricks on four non-bank financial institutions in such a way that no one could suspect anything before around Tk 10,000 crore were siphoned from those.

Use of both credit and debit cards hit an all-time high in December as people continued to fulfil their demand using the digital means, sidestepping the fear of economic losses caused by the pandemic.

Banks swept under the rug Tk 12,140 crore in defaulted loans in the nine months to September last year by rescheduling and writing those off.

Bangladesh’s banking sector faced a provision shortfall of Tk 123.49 crore last year, primarily for a lacklustre performance of 11 banks.

Default loans went down in 2020 on the back of a general forbearance on loan payments, a development that does not cheer experts and bankers as the fall did not paint the actual scenario.

The Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) yesterday asked the central bank to further relax the repayment tenure for term loans and working capital.

Directors of banks have urged the central bank to relax the repayment tenure for term loans and working capital further, a demand that was opposed by bankers and analysts as the banking industry is still reeling from the pandemic-induced slowdown.

The implementation of stimulus packages for small and medium enterprises, the agriculture sector and underprivileged professionals and businesses is still weak because of lukewarm response from banks although they were unveiled more than a year ago.

The secondary bond market in Bangladesh has boomed in recent months on the back of lower interest rates on bank deposits and a set of measures taken by the central bank.

Remittance flow to Bangladesh has maintained its robust growth in January despite the persisting pandemic although it dropped below $2 billion for the first time in the last five months.

Banks are still far from meeting the disbursement deadline for farm loans under the associated stimulus package of Tk 5,000 crore as a third of the fund is yet to be given out.