The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has
informed that about Taka 92,261 crore were embezzled in 24 major banking
scams over a period from 2008 to 2023.
The embezzled amount was also equivalent to 12 percent of the national budget
for FY24 or two percent of the GDP of FY23.
The civil society think-tank observed that all individuals involved with
fraudulent activities should be investigated and brought to justice.
The CPD today shared the data at a press conference on the banking sector as
an interim government, led by Nobel laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, was
sworn in as the Chief Adviser on August 8, following the fall and exit of
Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh on August 5 in the face of a student-led mass
uprising centering the quota reform movement.
“Previously good banks have experienced a misfortune decline in their
performances after hostile takeovers by crony capitalists,” said Fahmida
Khatun, executive director of the CPD, while presenting a paper co-authored
by CPD Research Fellow
Syed Yusuf Sadat.
She said several banks are clinically dead, but have been kept alive through
bailout and thus recommended giving go-ahead to closing down banks that are
on the verge of collapse. She said the banking sector, a vital pillar of the
economy, has been suffering from vulnerability over time manifested through
high loan defaults.
Regrettably, the previous government did not keep its commitments to
safeguard the banking sector being expressed in various policy documents and
election manifesto, she added.
Fahmida Khatun, however, said there has been an erosion of public trust in
the banking sector due to the continuous deterioration of the health of the
sector and inadequate measures taken by the policymakers of the former
government.
Sporadic measures were not successful since the nature and depth of the
problem require comprehensive due diligence and structural reforms, she
added. She said that reforms must be backed by political will as there will
be resistance from the vested int
erest groups.
She mentioned that a goal-specific, time-bound, transparent, unbiased,
inclusive and independent Banking Commission should be formed to bring
transparency in to the prevailing situation, identifying the root causes of
the manifest problems, and suggesting credible measures for improving the
situation in a sustainable manner.
At the briefing, CPD Distinguished Fellow Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Research
Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem and Senior Research Fellow Towfiqul Islam
Khan were present, among others.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha