Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank :
Defaulted loans continue to swell, as the banks are not active enough to recover them. To resolve the crisis, the banks should go for a strong measure. If this does not work out, then the banks should take legal actions. The loan defaulters should not be given loans anew. The fresh loans should be given after proper verification. The banks should not bow down to any influence while giving loans.
To put it in a nutshell, the banks should work with full professionalism. Regrettably, the banks are still found wanting in this respect. The bankers should equip themselves with professionalism too.
The loan defaulters are politically well-connected and socially influential. That is why they cannot be forced and the bankers do not want to recover loans from them. This is one of the major problems.
The loans were given under political consideration. It is not that the genuine people are getting the new loans. Those types of businesspeople are given loans that have relations with the bankers.
The banks do not want to give loans to small, medium and marginal businesspeople. To me, coordination is necessary to bring back discipline to the banking sector.
Based on an interview by Ashiq Rahman, translated by Hossen Sohel