The Bangladesh Bank (BB) yesterday extended an additional Tk 2,500 crore in emergency liquidity support to Social Islami Bank and First Security Islami Bank without any security to help them address financial crises.

Distressed assets in the banking sector have reached a whooping Tk 6,75,030 crore, an amount bigger than the cost of building 22 bridges across the Padma or 13.5 metro rail systems in Dhaka, according to a White Paper released yesterday.

The regime-sponsored immorality to protect or pamper the financial gangsters not only eroded the future of the banking sector, but also made the wound too difficult to recover from.

Any barrier to exporters’ operations should be removed

The interim government will soon form a banking commission, a longstanding demand from economists, to bring about reforms aimed at salvaging the financial sector, which has been suffering from high default loans and weak governance.

We have been talking about banking sector reforms since long as our banking sector is plagued with insider lending, bad loans, low capitalisation and risk coverage, weak governance, sub-optimal automation, a lack of expert manpower and non-availability of better products to serve the emerging clients and cater their shifting demands.

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has vowed to mete out exemplary punishment to big loan defaulters as the interim government scrambles to fix the ailing banking sector of Bangladesh.

Punish wilful defaulters before banks’ health further deteriorates

National Bank’s plight is the result of poor banking governance

It is necessary to get an appropriate estimate of NPLs so that the actual performance of the banking sector can be understood.

So much for restoring good governance and holding bank ‘looters’ accountable

Approval of draft Bank Company Act gives hope but enforcement is key