The crisis in the banking sector caused by Hallmark-Sonali Bank loan scandal is yet to be addressed fully creating an ‘inter-bank mistrust’, said Sonali Bank Limited director Dr Zaid Bakht on Sunday.
“The overall crisis in the banking sector after the Hall-Mark incident scenario is not being well-attended,” he told a post-budget discussion at the Jatiya Press Club.
Zaid Bakht, also Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), sees budgetary measures and direct intervention by the Finance Ministry as a solution to that ‘artificial’ crisis.
He said the scenario in each bank, especially the public ones, in terms of disbursement of credit to private sector is totally different in the post-Hallmark scandal period.
“We’re not even getting proposal (for investment). Banks are sitting on idle cash. We’re pushing managers for increasing disbursement, but the progress is very slow,” Zaid said.
Another director of the state-owned Bank Selima Ahmed was also present at the discussion titled ‘Budget for 2014-15: Will it boost growth and investment?’ arranged by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) arranged with its President Sultan Mahmud in the chair.
Eminent economist and former finance adviser to a caretaker government Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam spoke at the discussion as the chief guest.
Former Chairman of the then Securities and Exchange Commission Faruq Ahmed Siddique, Dhaka University Economics Department Prof Dr MA Taslim, Additional Research Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Ifad Group Director Tashfeen Ahmed and ERF General Secretary Sajjadur Rahman also spoke at the post-budget discussion.
Source: UNBconnnect
