At least 13,307 borrowers have made their loans regular by taking the policy support within the scheduled timeframe, finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal says.
'Debt Rescheduling and One-time Exit Special Policy-2019' was issued to reduce defaulted loans and give a chance for real businessmen to continue their business with a rescheduling facility by paying a down-payment of only 2.0 per cent.
"By taking the opportunity, as many as 13,307 borrowers have made their loans regular within the scheduled time (till March 2022)," he disclosed the figures.
The minister unveiled the national budget for fiscal year 2022-23 in parliament on Thursday.
Defaulted loans are one of the major obstacles to the development of an efficient and modern banking system.
"We are, therefore, continuing our efforts to get out of the loan default culture and build a better loan culture," he cites.
The government is further strengthening the system of encouraging good borrowers and bringing intentional defaulters to book, according to the minister.
On the other hand, the practice of capital injection into state-owned banks with the taxpayer's money has been prevalent in Bangladesh for a long time.
"We've made initiatives to get out of this culture. We encourage state-owned banks to redesign their business models and conduct banking activities accordingly," says Mr Kamal.
As a result, he adds, state-owned banks are becoming increasingly self-sufficient.
"Although the banks in the public sector didn't make a profit during Covid-19, they didn't need to have capital injection."
Moreover, if the legal reforms are fully implemented in the financial sector, the banking sector will stand on a solid foundation.
"If the legal reforms that I've mentioned are fully implemented in the financial sector, the banking sector will stand on a solid foundation," mentions Mr Kamal.
The government is now implementing different activities for the reform and development of banking, capital market, insurance and other financial sectors.
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