BB seeks banks’ updated bad loan, provisioning status
The central bank yesterday asked banks to send their figure of defaulted loans and provisioning of the first quarter of the year within tomorrow.
Banks have already been also asked to provide their announced interest on both loans and savings for March, April and May next day, according to a Bangladesh Bank letter delivered to all managing directors of lenders.
The central bank earlier asked banks to supply the info within 10 days after completion of the ongoing general holidays declared by the federal government to tackle the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the government has extended the overall holidays to longer than expected.
Against the background, the central bank asked banks to send their information to update its regular statements.
The BB will give the same instruction to banks because of their other data needed to update its all monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and other statements.
On the pretext of the shutdown, the central bank has stopped preparing its major monetary statements -- the total amount of payments, the growth of reserve and board money and their multiplier effect, private sector credit growth and several other statistical reports -- since February. It has just prepared the import figure yesterday after a pause.
This can help the central bank to monitor the money market and financial sector smoothly through the ongoing meltdown.
"Updated information is highly important to fight the ongoing economical fallout. So, this is a good decision certainly," said a managing director, wishing never to be named.
In another move, the central bank said employees of banks won't get special incentive after May 28.
The BB asked banks on April 12 to supply the incentive with their employees who will work during the shutdown.
According to the central bank instruction, bankers will receive a month's basic salary if indeed they just work at least 10 days through the ongoing shutdown.
The special incentive will range between a minimum of Tk 30,000 and no more than Tk 100,000 a month during the shutdown.
However the latest central bank notice said that the federal government had taken different initiatives to regenerate the economy. Within the move, the central bank has moved to extend the banking hours rather than limited banking.
