BASIC's single borrower exposure exceeds limits

BASIC Bank has progressively increased its single borrower exposure limit since 2009, which is a gross violation of banking rules, the finance ministry's latest report said.

Bangladesh Bank rules say a bank cannot grant more than 15 percent of its capital to a single borrower, but in 2012 and 2013 the state-run specialised bank's single borrower exposure stood at 22.86 percent and 21.07 percent respectively.

In 2009, its single borrower exposure stood at 15.58 percent, 10.67 percent in 2010 and 15.49 percent in 2011, said the report that looked in-depth at the bank's financial indicators over the past five years.

It found that all of BASIC's financial indicators deteriorated in the last five years due to irregularities.

The report, which was conducted at BB's behest, was handed to the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry on Wednesday, and a discussion chaired by the committee's chief Abdur Razzak focused on it. Further discussions will be held on the matter at the committee's next meeting, a finance ministry official said.

The bank's return to equity was 18.79 percent in 2009, which dropped to -1.71 percent in June 2014, according to the report.

At the end of June, BASIC's loss against per share stood at Tk 1.77, but in 2009 it was Tk 18.79 in the earning.

In 2013, the bank suffered a loss of Tk 53 crore for the first time in its history, and in June this year the loss stood at Tk 5.22 crore, the report.

At the end of June, 34 of its 68 branches were loss-making, whereas only three branches suffered losses in 2009.

The report said the amount of default loans at the end of June was 40.38 percent of the total outstanding loans. It was only 4.83 percent in 2009.

At the end of June, it had a capital deficit of Tk 1,675 crore, whereas in 2009 it was Tk 111 crore in the surplus.