Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur on Tuesday said that the banks those were hamstrung by classified loans over 80 per cent of their outstanding loans would not survive.
鈥榃e have to make a resolution regarding those banks soon,鈥� he said without naming the sick banks while he was addressing a seminar on the 鈥楻ecommendations by the task force on re-strategising the economy鈥� online.
Bankers attending the session 鈥楳acroeconomic policy and governance in the banking sector鈥� on the last day of the two-day seminar in the capital Dhaka, however, opposed the central bank governor鈥檚 observations about the banks.
They said that the economy would not improve unless law and order situation and investment improved.
Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of National Bank and also a former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the BB governor to talk less.
He also wanted to know whether closing down the banks would be able to improve the broken economy left by the Awami League regime ousted in a mass uprising in August in the past year.
Expressing doubt that the task force would make any positive contribution to the economy, he said that the recommendations had no connection with politicians.
鈥楴o reform can be done without politicians,鈥� he said.
Earlier, Ahsan H Mansur said that the draft of the bank resolution ordinance aiming at making resolution about the sick banks had already been prepared.
Asset valuation of six banks mainly Shariah-based ones previously controlled by a business group is being examined, he said, adding that the bank resolution ordinance would be submitted to the advisory council in April for approval.
He also talked about many other measures taken to improve autonomy of the central bank and curbing inflation.
Dhaka Bank chairman Abdul Hai Sarker, also the chairman of the ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Association of Banks, said that they did not accept the recommendations made by the task force.
He said there were no representatives from the banking sector in the task force.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, and Md Main Uddin, former chairman of the banking and insurance department at the University of Dhaka, also spoke on the occasion.
Monzur Hossain and Fahmida Khatun, members of the task force, made keynote presentations, highlighting suggestions in the report.