The country’s first private bank, AB Bank Plc, has extensively manipulated the data of defaulted loans. The amount of defaulted loans shown by this bank listed in the capital market in last year’s financial statement is 16 thousand crores less than the actual defaulted. Through this, the bank has hidden a huge amount of defaulted loans.

According to the information obtained from the inspection of Bangladesh Bank, the total amount of disbursed loans of AB Bank at the end of December last year was Tk 31 thousand 712 crores. Out of that amount of defaulted loans is Tk 21 thousand 283 crores. That is, 67.11 percent of the total loan has gone to the default account. But in the financial statements given by AB Bank to the Central Bank, the amount of defaulted loans has been shown to be only Tk 5,272 crore, which is 16.63 percent of the total disbursed loans. According to that, AB Bank has shown less defaulted loans by Tk 16 thousand 10 crores.

When asked about this, AB Bank Managing Director (MD) Tariq Afzal said that we have bad loans. Efforts are underway to recover the debt. But it is not correct that it is 67 percent. Verified by their own people and by the Central Bank’s audit institute. The central bank is well audited. There should not be such a big miscalculation. There is a big mistake somewhere in this case. And the debt will be collected in turn.

According to Bangladesh Bank, out of Tk 31 thousand 712 crore loans of AB Bank, the amount of standard (good quality) loans is Tk 10 thousand 195 crores or 32.15 percent. But as shown by AB Bank, the amount of standard loans is 25 thousand 716 crores or 81.09 percent. As such, the bank has shown an excess of Tk 15,520 crore in standard loans. It is serious manipulation and punishable offense under Bangladesh Bank Act. Similarly, Bangladesh Bank has shown that the amount of loans in AB Bank’s SMA (non-performing but not defaulted) category is Tk 127 crore or 0.40 percent.

Although the SMA loan given by the bank is shown as 617 crores or 1.95 percent. In this case too, the gap is 490 crores. Bangladesh Bank’s inspection revealed that AB Bank’s non-performing loans amount to Tk 2,555 crore or 8.06 percent. But AB Bank showed Tk 13 crore 88 lakh or zero decimal zero 4 percent. In this case, the difference is 2 thousand 541 crores. And according to the central bank, the amount of the loan that is uncertain is 509 crores or 1.61 percent. But the bank showed 266 crore 82 lakh taka or decimal 84 percent. An account of 242 crore taka is concealed in this category of loans.

In this context, the spokesperson and executive director of Bangladesh Bank. Majbaul Haque said that it is the routine work of the central bank to inspect the commercial bank’s loan irregularities and violations of the law. Again the balance sheet is prepared by the audit firm of the banks. No one can break the rules and run the bank. Punishment will be given according to law.

Sources-Central Bank