Premier Bank maintains cautious policy

Premier Bank has been maintaining a cautious policy before lending money.

"We are very cautious in protecting the public money and we will not allow application of any identified defaulter who wants to reschedule their loan," Chairman of the bank Dr H B M Iqbal said in an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the third generation PCB on Saturday.

"Such tough and prudent policy has helped the PCB limit its non-performing loan (NPL) below 4.5 per cent or Tk 6.5 billion at present," he added.

He also underscored the need for bringing reforms of the existing laws to handle financial scams.

Dr H B M Iqbal attended the function as the chief guest, while its Vice-Chairman Moin Iqbal, director Abdus Salam Murshedy, adviser Muhammed Ali and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) M Reazul Karim attended the celebration programme, among, others.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr H B M Iqbal said the banking sector has been playing a crucial role for the country's economic growth and employment generation though many people raise question about the higher number of banks operating in the country.

"Our bank has been playing an important role in the development of various sectors of the country and we have experienced wide success in many different aspects," he said.

Responding to a query, Mr Iqbal said though there had been lot of improvements in legal framework, still there is a need for further improvement.

"The Artho Rin Adalat Ain cannot function properly as defaulters often take stay order from the High Court on the disputes instead of settling them," he said.

So a foolproof legal system is urgently required so that borrowers must repay the debt, that is public money, he added.

Muhammed Ali, adviser of the bank, said strict monitoring is a must to track the borrowed money.

"A borrower cannot escape if the borrowed money is tracked properly by the bank officials and in our bank, we have ensured this practice," Muhammed Ali, a veteran banker asserted.

MD and CEO M Reazul Karim said the bank has adopted all the components of digital banking, alternative delivery channel and establishing a cashless society.

"We are going to launch 500 agent banking outlets and 20 booths soon," he said, adding that: "Besides, we are providing a good number of banking services through smartphone application like deposit, money transfer, account opening and mobile top up."

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