Sonali Bank recovers 4.5pc of classified loans from top 20 defaulters until May 2024

State-owned Sonali Bank managed to recover a mere 4.5 per cent of classified loans from top 20 defaulters as of May, 2024.
According to data from the bank's Loan Recovery Division, 17 out of the top 20 defaulters did not pay a single penny between January and May, 2024. Hallmark Group, Leena Group, and Apex Weaving and Finishing together repaid only Tk 2.7 million.
These 20 defaulters collectively owe more than Tk 50.80 billion to the bank until December 2023.
Sonali Bank's total classified loans stood at over Tk 149.88 billion, 14.84 per cent of its total disbursed loans, as of March 2024.
Md. Afzal Karim, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Sonali Bank, said the bank is implementing a four-tier supervision system to recover all classified loans and recover around Tk 220 million from different defaulters.
The Deputy Managing Directors (DMDs) in different regions are actively working to recover the default loans, while the branch managers are overseeing the top 20 defaulters. Additionally, the General Manager of the Loan Recovery Division is closely monitoring the process, Mr Karim noted.
He mentioned that one of last year's top 20 defaulters has been removed from the list this year by rescheduling its loan according to existing regulations.
He also highlighted that the bank has reduced its capital shortfall and seen an increase in its deposit portfolio.
The Bangladesh Bank provided a loan moratorium to borrowers for the entire year of 2020 to help mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Subsequently, the central bank eased its loan classification policy in response to the slowdown in businesses caused by the pandemic.
The top 20 defaulters include T and Brother's Group, Hallmark Group, Rupashi Group, Modern Steel Mills Limited, Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd, Fair Trade Fabric, M/S Rahman Group, Alltex Industry Limited, Monno Fabrics, Leena Group, Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd, Magura Paper Mills Ltd, Apex Weaving and Finishing, Biswas Garments Ltd, M/S Reza Jute, Meghna Condensed Milk Industries Limited, Sonali Jute Mills Ltd, Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, Supreme Jute & Knitex Ltd, and Sharif Jute Trading.
Among these, T and Brother's Group, which owes over Tk 4.90 billion to the bank-the highest among the defaulters-was expected to repay more than Tk 2.45 billion this year but has not made any payments in the first five months of 2024.
Similarly, Hallmark Group has paid back only Tk 2.3 million in the last five months against this year's payable amount of Tk 2.41 billion, despite defaulting over Tk 4.82 billion. This represents a mere 0.10 per cent recovery from January to May.
Rupashi Group, with a debt of over Tk 4.65 billion, was supposed to repay more than Tk 2.32 billion this year but failed to make any payments from January to May.

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