“We have identified those who took away thousands of crores of rupees from the National Bank. Operations are underway with the central bank and international assistance to recover that money. From next week we will start attachment. I hope the National Bank will turn around within the next three months.'
Moazzem Hossain, director of the bank, said these things in a press conference organized at the head office of the National Bank on Thursday.
He also said, 'Those who have taken loans from National Bank, the properties that are immovable and immovable have been identified. There are also such customers whose wealth of Rs 1000 crore was found in Gulshan. I have taken the initiative to take all these from the bank. We have taken effective initiatives to catch those who have taken the most money from this bank.'
Abdul Awal Mintu, chairman of the bank, said, 'Depositors have lost confidence in the banking sector due to fear and rumours. I will not say that there were no irregularities in this sector. There have been multidimensional and multilateral irregularities in the banking sector. However, National Bank now has five audit firms, including international and domestic ones. Based on their report, we will decide what to do next. I can confirm this much that the irregularities that have been there for so long, are now completely stopped. Now we are trying to recover from foreclosures and bad or defaulted loans. Besides, I emphasized on increasing foreign trade and remittances. The chairman expressed the hope of turning around with the help of the central bank.
Through a written statement, he also said that even in the difficult times of the country, the National Bank is actively working alongside the garment industry and factories, one of the most important sectors of the country. National Bank has always endeavored to ensure timely payment of salaries and allowances to garment workers, especially with the provision of LC facilities. In addition to this, National Bank is also trying to keep the country's economy running in the field of foreign transactions. The National Bank has recovered Rs 900 crore of defaults till this October and the process of recovering another Rs 400 crore is underway this year, he said.
It should be noted that Bangladesh Bank abolished the board of directors of the private National Bank on August 20. Many of the previous directors of National Bank were representatives of various companies under the name of S Alam Group, a Chittagong-based business group. As a result, through this action of the central bank, the bank is considered to have been freed from the hands of the S Alam group.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, the amount of loans disbursed by National Bank was Tk 42 thousand 270 crore till last December. Out of this, 12 thousand 365 crores were defaulted. 29 percent of total loans disbursed. In fact, the bank's defaulted loans are alleged to be even higher. According to the data of the central bank, the provision deficit of the bank is currently 11 thousand 698 crores.
