According to the bank sources, the amount of money these three state-owned enterprises (SoEs) borrowed accounts for 45 per cent of the bank's total classified loans.

The three among the 20 top defaulters are Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation-BJMC (Tk 183 crore), Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (Tk 163 crore) and Karnaphuli Carpet Factory (Tk 17 crore).

The sources said these SoEs did not come forward to repay the loans since 1984, the year the BJMC paid its last instalment. The BTMC or the carpet factory also went for similar exercises.

Although the bank relentlessly tried to recover the loans, there has been no response. Finally, the bank early this year proposed to these SoEs to pay one down payment so that the default loans could be rescheduled. But none of these defaulters responded to this proposal till date, the sources added.

The top 20 defaulters of Agrani Bank are indebted for Tk 962.41 crore, which accounts for 32 per cent of the bank's total classified loans.

Up to June 30, 2006, the Agrani Bank's total classified loan reached Tk 2982 crore, which is 29per cent of the bank's total outstanding loan.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Jute Mills Ltd remains another top defaulter among the remaining 17, which owes 59 crore to the bank. It stopped payment to the bank since 2004. The mill is learnt to have agreed to sell out its properties for repaying the default loans.

The bank has sued 6 defaulters so far to realise Tk 162.85 crore and is intended to file case against another 7 defaulters to recover 146.74 crore from them, although no case has been filed against the remaining 7 defaulters who owe Tk 494.37crore to the bank.

The sources said the bank has been able to recover only Tk5.15crore during the last six months, mainly from some enterprises in the private sector.

Private company Taj Tubes owes Tk 40 crore to the bank. The bank filed a case in 2004 and the company resorted to filing a writ petition. The bank is now trying to vacate the writ petition.

Javed Still Mills owes Tk 33 crore to the bank. Its owner Javed Akhtar, who is a son of former parliamentarian Aktaruzzaman Babu, becomes defaulter in three more loans from this bank, amounting to Tk 80 crore. The bank is currently negotiating with Javed over rescheduling the loans as he has recently paid the bank Tk 2.75 crore.

Gachihata Aqua Culture, owned by former parliamentarian Major (retd) Aktaruzzaman, owes Tk 23 crore to the bank. Akhtar had made a down payment cheque of Tk 1.73 crore in April this year. But the cheque bounced and the bank sued him. An arrest warrant has also been issued against him.

"It is often found that once a court verdict goes against a long-time defaulter, the defaulter resorts to the High Court and through various legal measures slow down the loan recovery process for many years," said a high official of the Agrani Bank.

Other listed defaulters are Night Dying Industries (Tk27.92crore), Bamwat Detergent and Chemical (Tk 27.31 crore), Vanguard Steel Ltd (Tk 25.80crore), Shiddeshwari Cold Storage (Tk 24.15 crore), M Rahman Mills (Tk 21.62 crore), S K M Jute Mills (Tk 19.38 crore), Panchashar Cold Storage (Tk 9.62 crore), Chittagong Vegetable Oil Industry (Tk0.53 crore), Poly Fabrics (Tk 32.52 crore) and Goalanda Textile Mills (Tk13.52 crore).

Agrani Bank has decided to cut the interest of Free Press Ltd, which is indebted for Tk 16.83 crore, if it makes down payment of Tk 2.53 crore to the bank.

The bank did not sue R B Textile Ltd, which owes Tk 18.90 crore as it has proposed to reschedule its loan and is waiting for the central bank's nod.