The Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Thursday decided to form a joint-monitoring committee to address the commercial banks’ reluctance to clear the inland documentary bills on credit to apparel and textile owners.
The decision came when the newly elected governing body of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) called on the central bank governor, Dr Atiur Rahman, at his office.
The joint-committee will also work on the moderation of the loan classification and provisioning restrictions imposed earlier by the central bank, BGMEA president M Atiqul Islam told reporters after the meeting with the BB governor.
He said that in the meeting, the BGMEA leaders expressed concern over the apathy the commercial banks have been showing to the readymade garment (RMG) owners since the Hallmark scam was exposed.
Atiqul Islam said: “We also demanded the withdrawal of the recently imposed instruction on loan classification and provisioning that was issued by the central bank.”
The BB governor has agreed to cancel the instruction requiring a continuous loan to be classified for non-repayment within three months, he informed.
“I assure the RMG owners that the previous timeframe of six months will be restored for loan classification,” the BGMEA president said.
BB executive director SM Moniruzzaman and BGMEA vice president Nasir Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury are primarily nominated as the members of the joint-monitoring committee.
