BB to start assessing quality of banks' assets next month

Bangladesh Bank is set to start assessing the quality of banks' assets next month to know the overall situation of the sector, in a prelude to comprehensive reforms.

"We may start the assessment phase from November," BB Governor Dr Ahsan H. Mansur told a press conference at the office of the Alternate Executive Director (AED) for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka at the World Bank Group in Washington, USA, on Tuesday.

He is now in Washington to attend the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group as a member of the Bangladesh delegation, headed by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed. The adviser also spoke at the event.

"We discussed with the World Bank the banking-sector reforms. The roadmap has been chalked out. We will do asset evaluation with an international auditor," Dr Mansur said in reply to a question.

"We will find out the loss of the banks and assess damages, capital shortfalls, the need for recapitalisation … These are issues of economic and political decision."

The BB has formed a six-member taskforce to assess the existing financial situation, bad assets and major risks to maintain economic stability.

Besides, the taskforce will conduct financial-index review, assess actual conditions of the loans, actual price of assets, security-deposit deficiency and will separate the bad assets of banks concerned.

The BB Governor said all parties at the Annual Meetings here are cooperating with Bangladesh in the matter of bringing the laundered money back to the country and a due process in this regard got underway.

"To implement this, we have to work with international organisations … mainly we have to work bilaterally and that comes from the political sides," he said, adding that the Bangladesh delegation is expected to hold a meeting with all concerned on October 26 to fine tune the strategy.

The Governor, appointed after the August-5th student-mass uprising, exudes hopes that Bangladesh would do better than Sri Lanka--the island country that also rebounds from an economic crisis and overthrow of government in a mass upsurge.

"We have not become like Sri Lanka, nor will we."

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