BB takes 18-month action plan to tackle soaring NPLs

Around 36 percent of the total loans disbursed in the country’s banking sector are currently non-performing, posing a major risk to the financial sector, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman said on Thursday.

To tackle the crisis, the central bank has adopted an 18-month special action plan aimed at reducing non-performing loans (NPLs) and stabilising the banking sector, he said while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on Bangla QR Code at Dhaka University.

The central bank chief stated that around 2 crore depositors were affected due to various irregularities during the tenure of the previous government.

He emphasised that there is no alternative to taking strict measures to restore normal operations in the banking sector. Detailing the plan, Mostaqur explained that borrowers will be offered an exit facility through the bullet payment method during the first six months of the programme.

Over the following year, necessary measures will be enforced to recover defaulted loans under the proposed Distressed Asset Management Act and the Artha Rin Adalat Act, he said.

The BB governor further announced that a new credit package of Tk 60,000 crore will be introduced starting this September to boost loan flow to the private sector.

Additionally, he shared that an initiative will be taken to create 5,000 new entrepreneurs in each upazila of the country to facilitate the rehabilitation and employment of July fighters who participated in the 2024 mass uprising.