Senior Reporter
For the past decade and a half, the state-owned Janata Bank has held the top spot in discussions and criticisms within the country’s banking sector. Allegations persist that the bank has favored individuals and groups with political influence, granting them massive loans with minimal collateral. As a result, the bank has accumulated an enormous amount of non-performing loans (NPLs).
On August 5 last year, following Sheikh Hasina's departure from the country amid a mass uprising, winds of change swept across almost every sector, including politics and the economy. As part of this transformation, the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, pledged to restructure the banking sector. He dissolved the boards of 11 "corrupt" banks and reconstituted them while initiating comprehensive banking reforms. He also assured that efforts would be made to recover money laundered from the banking sector. However, in the past six months, there has been little progress in retrieving these laundered funds.
In the third quarter of 2024 (September), the amount of defaulted loans in banks surged by 73,586 crore BDT, reaching nearly 3 trillion BDT. Although the figures for the December quarter are yet to be calculated, financial experts predict that default loans may exceed 3.5 trillion BDT.
Students of Titumir College continued their hunger strike for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, demanding the conversion of their college into a university. At noon, they blocked the road in front of the college on the Mohakhali road with bamboo sticks, causing traffic to come to a halt. Four students have been hospitalized due to the protest, with at least two of them reportedly in critical condition, according to the students. Despite this, they have remained steadfast in their protest. The government, however, has stated that there is no possibility of providing any special privileges to Titumir College, and it will not establish any more universities in response to these demands.
Throughout the year, the banking sector was at the center of discussions due to irregularities, non-performing loans, and large-scale embezzlement under various guises. Issues such as the looting, monopolization, and money laundering by the S.
In the first nine months of this year, 347,000 policyholders have canceled their policies with 36 life insurance companies operating in Bangladesh, according to the latest report by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA). Industry insiders say that while the insurance sector contributes to the economy alongside banks, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and the capital market, it remains plagued by distrust and instability. Despite various governmental and private initiatives, full confidence in this sector has not been restored, and the challenges are deepened by recurring policy cancellations.