Editorial
Loan default culture
Make better use of Money Loan Court Act 2003
When the governor of Bangladesh Bank expresses worries at the maneuvering of the bank loan defaulters to delay payment of the accrued instalments, we understand it would take more than the customary procedures to recover the colossal amount from them. We note with grave concern that only twenty of the top defaulters of the country are holding fifty per cent of the total bad loan, which amounts to Tk. 6, 445 crore. Surely, for a developing country like Bangladesh that is an amount worth causing an uproar in the banking sector. The BB governor categorically mentioned that the banks are unable to recover the bad loans because of the stay orders of the High Court against 1,768 writ petitions filed by the defaulters. He, however, instructed the various banks to take special measures through revitalising the monitoring cells and hiring efficient lawyers. The fact that bad loans involved in suits under Money Loan Court Act 2003 amounts to Tk 16,441 crore, amply points finger at the inefficiency in loan management by the officials concerned at various banks in the country. Though some experts consider the said Act as a big step towards loan recovery, we see that it has not been applied to its full potential to dig out the instalments from the big-time defaulters. In fact, the governor of Bangladesh Bank also admitted that though the situation of defaulting loan did improve significantly after the enactment of the law, still there were problems in implementing the court judgments. Our observation is clear in this regard and that is the very bad culture of evading payment of bank loans is taking a root in society because of some corrupt elements in the banking and other relevant sectors. Such practice is not only keeping our economy as hostage, it is encouraging others not to pay back their loans on a regular basis. We strongly feel that strict implementation of the relevant laws and Acts is imperative to circumvent this bad culture and stop creating more loan defaulters.
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