The interim government has continued to provide crisis-hit commercial banks and large business groups with emergency loan assistances with the offering of Tk 180 crore to the Beximco Group in the past week, said officials.
Calling such a move often necessary to deal with possible unrests in factories of the problem-ridden large groups and smooth operations of the scam-hit banks against the backdrop of the recent ouster of the Awami League regime, economists, however, said that the interim government was providing the emergency assistance in a random manner.
鈥業t should be given under a certain guideline,鈥� said former World Bank Dhaka office lead economist Zahid Hussain.
He made the observation after the loan assistance of Tk 180 crore had been extended to the Beximco Group enabling it to pay salaries to employees for the next three months.
Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Thursday said that they had decided not to extend such loan any more to any business groups or establishments.
He said that the loan was given to clear worker wages of the factories under the Beximco Group.
鈥楾he money was send to the accounts of the workers,鈥� he said, adding that the fund was not meant for the Group鈥檚 business.
The loan has been given by state-owned Janata Bank after the Beximco Group鈥檚 overall loans in the bank jumped to Tk 24,482 crore in 2023 from Tk 14,153 crore in 2021.
With the entire loans becoming almost defaulted, Janata Bank in consultation with the Bangladesh Bank is arranging the emergency loan facility on the finance ministry鈥檚 suggestion.
Janata Bank sought the finance ministry鈥檚 opinion regarding the emergency loan facility after repeated pleas from the Beximco Group, said the officials.
The finance ministry in its opinion expressed inability to provide any assistance from the budget and it even declined to take the liability of loans.
It, however, suggested that Janata Bank might arrange the loan facility with the help of the BB, said the officials.
Zahid observed that such an assistance from the central bank increased fear of printing money, one of the worst means to meet the fund requirement.
The Beximco Group founded by Salmam F Rahman, an influential figure of the AL鈥檚 kleptocracy regime, has already received Tk 60 crore from the government in November to clear the wages of workers of the Group鈥檚 readymade garment factories.
Emergency loan assistances have also been provided to National Bank and Padma Bank.
The BB provided Tk 22,000 crore loan facility to seven crisis-hit commercial banks, including five Shariah-based banks 鈥� Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank 鈥� which were previously controlled by controversial S Alam Group.
Policy Exchange Bangladesh chairman M Masrur Reaz said such type of assistance could not be continued for an indefinite period.
鈥楢t least, there should be a timeframe,鈥� he said.
Economists feared that the indiscipline in the financial sector inherited by the interim government would be complicated further if the extension of emergency loan assistances are to be continued without transparency.
They said that continuation of printing money would also be the most suicidal act when inflation was on the rising trend.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has reported that the rate of inflation maintained upward trend to 11.38 per cent in November on the back of price hikes of food items in both rural and urban areas.
The food inflation hit 14.63 per cent in the urban area and 13.41 per cent in the rural area in the month.
The country has been facing almost double-digit inflation for the past two years amid the macroeconomic downward trend spearheaded by a dollar shortage.
The ousted AL regime reportedly released printed money of Tk 60,000 crore in the 2023-24 financial year alone to bail out scam-hit banks controlled by the oligarchs connected to it.