Professor Abu Ahmed, Economist:
The corruption at the banks will reduce upto 50 percent if the Chairmen and the Managing Directors practice honesty. The country’s economy is now faring well. However, it is not as much as the government is thinking. The country’s banking sector is not faring well. The plunderers have plundered Farmers Bank and BASIC Bank. The government has taken no effective step. A huge amount of money has been smuggled. Please make a comparison between the current and 10-year-old balance sheets of four state-owned banks and everything will be clear.
Some wicked people have been given the charge of the banks and it is a foregone conclusion that the banks will be in a shambles.
Is there any shortage of honest people here? There are still some honest people among us. The BASIC Bank fraud has hit the headlines for the last three-four years. Has the government done anything? There are many honest people in Awami League. If people with a bad track record are given charge, they will surely steal.
I am frustrated over the country’s banking sector. Any new bank should not be given approval. However, the government is giving approval to one bank after another. Bad loans are weighing on the banking sector. The government holds the key to overcome the situation. Public money will not be plundered if the government gives charge of the banks to the honest people. Bad loans and other anomalies will reduce by 50 percent if the Chairmen and the Managing Directors remain honest.
Based on an interview by Ashiq Rahman, translated by Hossen Sohel