Amid severe criticism over the huge amount of default loans amassing and burdening the economy, top bankers on Wednesday claimed to have worked hard to develop the banking sector but do not get enough credit for it.
In a press meet organized by the Association of Bankers’, Bangladesh (ABB) in a city hotel, its president and managing director of Dhaka Bank Ltd Syed Mahbubur Rahman said that there has been a huge of development in the banking sector over the past few years, but negative news has always been highlighted by the media.
Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud, vice chairman of ABB and managing director of Sonali Bank, acknowledged that default loans will always continue to be present, but it must be limited.
“That does not make us villains,” he said, “some mistakes happen when working, which lead to rising default loans.”
When asked about a recent CPD analysis of Tk22,402 crore looted from the sector and rising default loans at Tk99,370 crore, Mahbubur added that some bankers may be at fault, but all bankers cannot be blamed for their malpractice.
Indicating the media, former ABB chairman and managing director of Mutual Trust Bank Ltd Anis A Khan, said that bankers work through several challenges, especially as they are accountable to the Bangladesh Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Board of Revenue, etc.
“If you show only the negatives, we cannot move forward,” he remarked.
Mahbub demonstrated figures marking the development of Bangladesh, through increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), remittances, poverty alleviation, etc and how banks had played a contributing role.
Among others, Sohail RK Hussain, managing director of The City Bank Ltd, Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia Ltd, Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director of Eastern Bank Ltd were present.
