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

It is high time our authorities dealt with loan defaulters and money launderers with utmost importance.

For the first time, the central bank has published full-fledged data on stressed assets of banks, laying bare the sector’s deep ills that have been a subject in the public discourse for long as irregularities and scams often make headlines.

The banking sector’s total risky loans amounted to Tk 377,922 crore at the end of last year, in a development that makes for a sobering reading of the actual health of this vital sector of the economy.

After the sudden drop in Bangladesh’s official foreign exchange reserves on July 13, another rude shock awaits: as per IMF conditions, the banking sector’s distressed assets will be published, in what would make for a grim reading about the industry’s health.