BNP Standing Committee Member and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has claimed that the government is letting the banks of the country die.
He remarked: "Let the banks die."
"Why is the government using the money of the common people to create funds for these banks? All the money is going to a particular group of people," he added.
The senior BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) leader said this while addressing the media during an event titled “Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Budget Dialogue 2019” at Dhaka's Lakeshore Hotel on Sunday.
The government plans to inject another Tk1,500 crore in FY2019-20 into state-run banks to meet their capital shortfall, despite their continuous financial irregularities and irresponsible lending practices.
A total of eight state-owned banks are responsible for around 52% of the loan defaults in this sector.
As of March 2019, the eight banks had Tk58,667 crore in non-performing loans, according to the latest central bank data.
In the last 10 years, the government has supplied a total of Tk17,521 crore in capitalization to ailing state banks, with budgetary allocation since FY2009-10.
Planning Minister M A Mannan was the chief guest, and MP and member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance Kazi Nabil Ahmed was the special guest at the event.
CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun made the keynote presentation, while CPD Chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan chaired the event, while distinguished fellow of CPD Prof Mustafizur Rahman moderated the session.
