Bad governance, corruption push default loans at state banks

The four state banks' default loans spiralled in December 2012, due to the various scams unearthed last year.
The cumulative default loans on December 31, 2012, as per the banks' preliminary data, stood at Tk 21,519 crore, up 126 percent year-on-year.
A central bank inspection drive last year exposed a host of irregularities at state banks -- Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali -- and the loans have now been classified as defaults.
The biggest irregularity was detected at Sonali Bank's Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch, where Tk 3,547 crore was embezzled by five firms, including Hall-Mark Group, in the name of bill purchase.
The loans were given to the accused parties by giving “acceptance” to bills of different banks and branches of Sonali Bank.
Of the Tk 3,546 crore of default loans the Ruposhi Bangla branch raked up, Tk 2,600 crore has been classified.
Sonali is yet to repay the remaining amount to the banks concerned, but when it is done the amount will also be recorded as defaults.
Sonali's default loans on December 31 stood at Tk 12,050 crore, up 111 percent year-on-year.
“We have taken drastic measures to recover the default loans. Next year, you will see its outcome,” Pradip Kumar Dutta, Sonali Bank's managing director, told The Daily Star.
He cited the recovery made in January alone -- of Tk 632 crore -- which is 74 percent of the total recovery made in the whole of 2012.
“Apart from the irregularities, the new loan classification policy of the central bank also contributed to the increase in default loan figures,” Dutta said.
Similarly in Janata Bank, the default loan sum shot up 168 percent in December, with its share of the outstanding loans increasing 1.5 times.
Agrani's default loans increased year-on-year by 143 percent to Tk 4,663 crore, and Rupali Bank's 113 percent.
“At the end of last year, the boards of the public banks did not function, which might have led to the rise in default loans,” a top official of Janata Bank said, asking not to be named.
Loan sanctioning upon political persuasion, dishonesty of bank officials caused the spike in default loans, said Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.
Khaled, however, disagrees that the change in central bank's loan classification policy had much impact on the final default loan figures.
“It made a very small difference,” he said, adding that the government should issue strict directive to the lawmakers to not pursue loans from public banks, for the sake of bringing down the default loan volumes.
If any irregularity is detected, the finance ministry will have to take stern actions, including on-the-spot dismissal, he said.
Besides, if BB makes any recommendation to the finance ministry regarding the public banks, the ministry would have to take instant action. “The central bank supervision will have to be strengthened further.”