ZCZC
BSS-41
KAMAL-MEETING-BANKING SECTOR
Kamal for facilitating good loan defaulters, penalizing dishonest loan
defaulters
DHAKA, March 25, 2019 (BSS)- Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today said
that the government would facilitate the good loan defaulters as it is going
to bring down the interest rate at flat seven percent for them to repay their
loans.
“There are two types of loan recipients and defaulters– good and
dishonest– and we’ll provide facilities to those good loan defaulters while
penalize the dishonest loan defaulters… We will reduce the interest rate
for good loan recipients,” he said the newsmen after chairing a meeting on
the country’s banking and financial sectors held at his ERD office in the
city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, Finance Division Secretary Abdur
Rouf Takukder, Financial Institution Division Secretary Md Asadul Islam were
present, among others, at the meeting.
Clarifying the method of apparently addressing the Non Performing Loans
(NPLs), Kamal said this facility would only be provided to good loan
recipients who tried to pay their loans in different times, but somehow
failed.
He said special audits would be carried out to ascertain who are good or
who are bad while asking how to identify the good and bad loan recipients and
defaulters.
“They will have to make two percent down payment on all types of loans —
big or small– and seven percent interest rate will be charged on the rest of
loan balance to be repaid in highest 12 years on quarterly basis. The
interest rate will be single, not compound,” he added.
The minister also noted that it’s a specific case for specific purpose to
give scope to the loan recipients and the loan defaulters to have an exit.
He also informed that a circular in this regard would be issued maximum
within one month and it would come into effect from first of May.
The new loan recipients would now receive loans at market based interest
rate so that they need not to incur any loss, Kamal said, adding, “We’ll
provide ample scope to service their loans,”
Beaides, he informed that the government is forming an Asset Management
Company along with framing the Insolvency Act to address the NPLs.
The Finance Minister said the immediate past Finance Minister Abul Maal
Abdul Muhith first formed a committee to address various problems in the bank
and financial sector.
Like many countries, there is no such easy exist for the loan defaulters
in the country as the businessmen in general assume a huge amount of risk
while running their businesses, he said.
When they make profit, then everyone becomes happy as the government gets
tax and VAT, employments are being generated. But, when they incur losses,
they had to concede interest rate on their loans on compound rate not at
single rate, Kamal said.
To overcome such situation as well as the deviations, he mentioned that
the committee was formed but the former finance minister could not finalize
any decision in the government’s previous term.
BSS/ASG/GM/SSS/1905 hrs