The central bank yesterday warned four state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) of rises in their classified loans and deteriorating risk management in recent months.
The word of warning, which comes following the Hall-Mark Group loan scandal, was conveyed at a quarterly meeting between Bangladesh Bank and the SCBs, chaired by Governor Atiur Rahman.
The regulator also asked the four banks to recover the classified loans by the year-end, or else the central bank would be compelled to take stern action against them, said a senior BB official present at the meeting.
“The governor wanted to know why these banks’ classified loans have increased in recent months,” SM Aminur Rahman, the managing director and chief executive officer of Janata Bank, confirmed to The Daily Star.
The Hall-Mark Group swindle and its consequences, including purchased bills settlement, to the banking industry, were also discussed at the meeting.
Rahman said the governor has asked the SCBs to strengthen their internal risk management so that classified loans could be curtailed and forgeries are avoided.
He said the governor also asked the SCBs to monitor the authorised dealer branches that deal with foreign trade.
Classified loans, also known as non-performing loans, of the SCBs rose to Tk 11,772 crore in June 2012 from Tk 10,120 crore in March 2012, according to data from BB.
The classified loans accounted for 13.54 percent of the total disbursed loans of these banks, the data showed.
Of the four SCBs, Janata’s classified loans, at the end of June, stood the lowest at 6.14 percent, while it went to double digits for the other three banks.
BB officials said the governor also asked the SCBs to reduce their borrowings from the call money market.
SCBs are not supposed to lend from the call money market, but due to their severe liquidity crisis they have resorted to borrowings from the BB in the form of special repo and the call money market.
-With The Daily Star input
