Private think-tank Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said the year 2017 will be remembered as the year of bank scam in Bangladesh.
It seems, he added, the incidents of corruption and mismanagement in the banking sector will not be settled in the current year.
The gloomy picture in the banking sector shows the government was not serious to carry out reforms in the sector unlike the pledges it made to the people.
Bebapriya Bhattacharya came up with the observations at a function of presenting CPD’s economic analysis for 2017-18. CPD research fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan presented this current year’s first analysis at CIRDAP auditorium on Saturday.
CPD makes economic analysis of the state of economy twice or thrice a year.
The issues of banking sector, Rohingya and floods were specially discussed at the function.
Another distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman, CPD executive director Fahmida Khatun and research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem also spoke.
Debapriya Bhattacharya said, “The country’s macroeconomic situation has been weaker. The economy is under pressure. The commitment we made to bring reforms to face the challenges has not brought forth, rather it has gone backward. The situation of banking sector is a terrible example of it.”
Debapriya Bhattacharya said, loan defaults, outstanding loan and shrinking savings had all aggravated in 2017.
Tax payers’ money was given to meet the capital shortfall of state-owned banks. Besides, ownerships of different private banks have been changed.
Several new banks allowed to operate on political consideration could not function effectively, he pointed out.
The incidents of siphoning off money through some private sector bank are common.
He said, instead of taking any preventive measure, the government has amended the banking company act to allow family members to control banks.
Source: Prothom-Alo.
