BTRC’s Tk 25.4cr FDR still stuck at ailing Padma Bank

Since 2017, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had invested around Tk 38 crore as term deposits in five branches of Padma Bank Limited. Of the amount, the bank, however, did not pay back the deposit to the tune of Tk 25.4 crore held with its four branches despite completion of its tenure in December 2017.

It is feared that withholding of this money may affect the economic activities of BTRC at present. FDR is a safe investment method, which is deposited in the bank for a fixed period of time and pays interest.

BTRC at times deposited various amounts in the form of FDRs with commercial banks in the country, including Padma Bank.

The institute first tried to reduce its financial risk by depositing money in various banks on behalf of the commission. Secondly, when competition between different banks increased, interest rates also became competitive, which financially benefited BTRC. Thirdly, by establishing relationships with different banks, BTRC could review the quality of their banking services and be able to make better financial decisions in future. But with Padma Bank, there has been a reverse calculation in this regard.

After June 2019, the finance department directed to deposit the revenue collection money of BTRC directly in the government treasury through a government order. Since then, BTRC has stopped depositing money in the form of FDR in banks. As per banking rules, non-withdrawal of deposits after maturity is a violation of customer rights.

According BTRC commission sources, 12 fixed deposits of Tk 38 crore was kept from September 2017 to December 2017 in 5 branches of Padma Bank. The five branches are Gulshan Corporate branch, Motijheel branch, Mirpur branch, Bashundhara branch and Imamganj branch. But the bank did not return the amount to BTRC within the stipulated time.

After that, the company was unable to collect the money from the bank even after repeated requests from BTRC. Later, the bank’s Gulshan corporate branch returned a total of Tk 5 crore with interest on 27 June 2019 to BTRC and 2 crore 40 lakh on 7 October. Mirpur branch returned Tk 2 crore 40 lakh on March 3, 2020, Basundhara branch Tk 2 crore 40 lakh on February 2, 2022, and from Imamganj branch Tk 1 crore on October 2 of the same year, Tk 1 crore on November 14, and Tk 40 lakh on January 1, 2023 were retrieved. In total, BTRC received a refund of Tk 12.6 crore out of Tk 38 crore.

The company still owes Tk 25 crore 40 lakh to the bank. Out of which Motijheel branch owes Tk5.4 crore, Mirpur branch owes Tk 3 crore, Bashundhara branch owes Tk 9 crore and Imamganj branch owes Tk 8 crore.

A top official of BTRC said on condition of anonymity that we are in regular contact with Padma Bank and necessary steps are being taken to resolve the matter quickly. But still the money from the bank could not be retrieved. The bank is delaying the dates citing liquidity crisis.

He said, we believe, we will be able to solve this problem in a short period of time. He also said that this is an important issue to maintain public confidence in financial institutions, and BTRC will not compromise with the safety of public money in any way.

Sources informed that as BTRC could not yet retrieve the FDR and the weakening financial condition of banks are causing concern in the financial sector. Especially the withholding of funds from BTRC or other government institutions can reduce confidence in banks. They feel that such incidents have come to reconsider the government’s policies and trust in the banking system.

BTRC collects its income from various sources, including spectrum license fee, annual fee, VAT, taxes, and other service provider fees. The money collected is used for day-to-day operations and long-term projects of the organization.