People's perception about a particular issue or incident is not always static and it may change with the passage of time. The finance minister's stance on the scam involving the country's largest state-owned bank, the Sonali Bank, and the little known business firm, the Hall-Mark, is a case in point.
When there was media uproar over siphoning off nearly Tk.35 billion from the bank by the Hall-Mark, the finance minister putting on a brave face pooh-poohed the scam saying the amount was just a 'peanut'. The statement had attracted lots of criticism for him from different directions.
The next scam involved even a bigger amount, over Tk. 40 billion, belonging to another public sector bank, the BASIC Bank. The finance minister was cautious this time in his reaction when the newspaper carried reports detailing how a section of borrowers had taken away a substantial amount from three to four branches of the bank with its high officials and the board members overlooking the developments.
Now, it seems, the finance minister of late has come to terms with the reality. He now realises the severity of the damage that the scams have caused to both banks, financially or otherwise. The banks in question have taken capital replenishment from the government and the BASIC has sought more.
The finance minister is now found to be highly critical of the state of affairs with most public sector banks. Speaking at the annual conference of the Janata Bank, a relatively financially sound public sector bank, late last week he likened the Sonali Bank scam to dacoity and that of BASIC to looting by some top officials. He, however, had some words of appreciation for the Janata Bank.
On Monday last, while accepting a dividend cheque of Tk 100 million from the Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL), the finance minister again reminded the people present there of the 'unsound' conditions of the public sector banks, particularly the big ones.
He had also some words of appreciation for the BDBL and found its conditions better than other state-owned banks. The BDBL was created through the merger of two sick development financing institutions (DFIs), the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank (BSB) and the Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha (BSRS). The BDBL has been allowed to do commercial banking operations. It has also written off bad loans amounting to Tk.25 billion. Like most other banks, it has also obviously window dressed its loan portfolio to give it a better look.
Most people do take the claim with a grain of salt that only some high officials of Sonali and BASIC were responsible for the plunder of banks' funds. They tend to believe that 'loot' could not be possible without the help of some people sitting on the boards of two banks. Even the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) has found only the officials responsible for the mischief. But it is hard to believe that large loans involved in both the scams were sanctioned and disbursed without the clearance of the boards or the chairmen of the banks. Lots have been said about the BASIC Bank chairman, even on the floor of the parliament by none other than the ruling party lawmakers. But until now he has gone unscathed.
It is not that only two scams have brought the banks to their knees. In fact irregularities in loan distribution and recovery in the public sector banks are galore. The Ministry of Finance has tried to improve the situation through various measures. But things have not changed much. At times, some improvements were noticed in the case of one or two banks, but those again went out of track after some time.
So, finally, frustration has crept into the mind of the man presiding over the national exchequer. His latest admission does indicate that he has given up the hope about a turnaround. He said he personally was among those who supported the existence of some state-owned banks with a hope that private sector banks would learn from the achievements of the former. He did not say his hope had been dashed, but the underlying tone of his recent deliberations was enough to indicate so.
Yet the finance minister should try some different remedies for the ailing public sector banks. Should they be placed under full control of the central bank? Such a move may not be relished by the Ministry of Finance, for, none wants to give up control over his/ her subjects. But if such a move has the potential of bringing better results, why should it not be tried? There is no denying that all is not perfect in the case of Bangladesh Bank's full control over the private banks. But, if not all, the majority of the private banks are in better shape compared to their public sector counterparts.
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Creeping-up frustration
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Published: February 10, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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