Four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) bear a burden of 9,223 unsettled audit objections which involve a hefty amount of nearly Tk 200 billion, statistics show.
The banks and financial institutions division (BFID) under the ministry of finance (MoF) is now working on how to settle these objections that have been pending for the past five years.
Janata Bank Ltd tops the list in numbers with 3,247 audit objections followed by 2,240 of Sonali Bank, 2,301 of Agrani Bank, and 1,435 of Rupali Bank.
However, in monetary terms, Sonali Bank tops the inventory with Tk 75.81 billion followed by Tk 64.24 billion of Janata Bank, Tk 38.26 billion of Agrani Bank and Tk 17.20 billion of Rupali Bank.
Officials said the objections raised by the auditors include non-compliance with financial regulations, irregularities in sanction of loans, issues relating to classification and write-off of bad loans, and cases filed for loan recovery.
Besides, irregularities regarding payment of value-added tax, procurement of vehicles, fuel bills, maintenance, and telephone bills were also included in the objections.
Statistics show that during the last five fiscal years (FY) between FY 2010-11 and FY 2014-15, Sonali Bank could settle only 1,167 audit objections out of 4,163 raised by the auditors. Some Tk 140 billion is involved in the objections raised.
In the same period some 2,968 objections involving Tk 173 billion were raised in case of Janata. The bank could settle 2,327 objections but only Tk 15.19 billion was recovered.
During the period, auditors had raised 5,795 objections involving Tk 85 billion in Agrani Bank. However, the bank could recover only Tk 1.33 billion through settling 2,589 objections.
During the last five fiscal years, some 1,672 objections, involving Tk 49 billion, were raised by the auditors in Agrani Bank. The bank could recover only Tk 2.43 billion by settling 834 objections.
A senior official at the BFID told the FE that the SoCBs had been asked to follow rules and regulations properly in their operational activities, especially in case of sanctioning loans and internal spending.
But sometimes these banks show reluctance towards going by rules and regulations and get involved in irregularities which are later being identified by auditors, he said.
"The rising trend of no-performing loans in the SoCBs is a good example of SoCBs' reluctance to follow rules. Had they followed rules properly and granted loans to suitable customers, such big amounts of loans might not have become classified," he said.
Asked why such a big number of audit objections remained unresolved for many years, the official said the procedure is very complicated.
"Settlement of objections can't be done unless the banks can convince us by providing necessary documents."
BFID secretary Dr Aslam Alam could not be reached for a comment despite several attempts made by the FE correspondent.
   syful-islam@outlook.com
Large audit objections await disposal by SoCBs
Syful Islam | Published: November 28, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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