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Adviser to the interim government on the ministries of finance and commerce Salehuddin Ahmed on Thursday asked the bank owners and managements to ensure lending of loans through proper scrutiny under the current circumstances.

‘I’ve requested them (BAB leaders) to lend loans after proper scrutiny under the current circumstances so that there is no deviation like in the past,’ he said.

The finance adviser was talking to reporters after a delegation of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), led by its newly elected chairman Abdul Hai Sarkar met him at the Finance Division conference room at Bangladesh Secretariat on the day.

Salehuddin said he also suggested the bank owners to ensure providing inclusive loans like to the CMSMEs since those usually do not get loans from the banks seamlessly.

‘Please, ensure good governance as well as transparency and accountability in your operations,’ he told the BAB leaders.

The adviser said the BAB leaders representing the chairmen of mainly private commercial banks discussed with him about the possibilities and problems surrounding the banking sector as well as about the possible steps for reforms initiative.

Salehuddin said they have raised some specific problems with loans and liquidity situation adding, ‘We’ve assured them that we’ll talk with the Bangladesh Bank in this regard.’

He said the BAB leaders also demanded of the government that their opinions are reflected in the banking sector reforms initiative.

‘We’ve assured them (BAB leaders) that we’ll do that in consultation with them,’ added the adviser.

After the meeting, BAB chairman Abdul Hai Sarkar said that the association sought support from the government to avail loans under a package from the development partners to rescue the problematic banks.

‘We’ve (BAB) sought finance adviser’s support for arranging loans under a package from the development partners like the International Monetary Fund, International Finance Corporation, ADB and the World Bank to help revive and rescue some eight to nine weak banks as it would be the best way to rescue these banks,’ he told to reporters after the meeting with the finance and commerce adviser. 

Noting that the strength of the banks is its depositors, he said that if the depositors did not deposit, then banks would be on the verge of collapse and thus could not lend loans.

Abdul Hai said that every problem in the world came with a solution, adding, ‘We’re trying to work out to resolve the problems in the banking sector.’ 

He went on saying, ‘The banks which are in good shape are good, but we also have to help survive the weak banks. In this regard, we’re developing a rapport with the government so that we can help survive the problematic banks.’

Without mentioning the names, he alleged that some bank owners, like S Alam, were assisted to emerge as mafia in the past regime.

In this regard, he said that the government should not interfere unnecessarily with the banking sector.

Asked about some specific proposals submitted before the finance adviser, he said that they had proposed that the adviser take steps for not allowing loan defaulters and money launderers for contesting their cases with courts concerned here through representatives, rather they had to surrender and appear before the courts physically.

‘The fugitive loan defaulters (now staying abroad) shouldn’t have any right to send their representatives to courts to contest their cases and such facility should be scrapped immediately…otherwise how come we’ll get back our money given from banks,’ he said.