Single borrower exposure limit not for honest businessmen, Kamal says


FHM Humayan Kabir from Washington DC | Published: April 12, 2019 11:58:00 | Updated: April 13, 2019 20:48:01


File photos shows Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said there will be no 'single borrower exposure limit' at the commercial banks for the honest businessmen in Bangladesh.

“There is no such limit in the world. It can only be seen in Bangladesh,” said the minister.

Minister Kamal made the observations while responding to reporters after the meeting with the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of International Monetary Fund (MF) Mitsuhiro Furusawa at Washington in USA Thursday (US local time).

Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, Finance Division Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder, Economic Relations Division Secretary Monowar Ahmed, among others, were also present at the meeting for Bangladesh side.

Minister Kamal told reporters that the exposure limit should be applied for the corrupt businessmen while there should be no such limit for the honest people.

“Why the person running business in honest manner will not get adequate loan he wants?” Kamal told the reporters at the World Bank head office in Washington.

“Some people borrow from five to 10 banks. And then they fail to pay it back. Thus, they engage in financial corruptions. But if we get all the information from one single place, the businessman cannot just go to another bank.

“For whom the single client exposure limit is? When we get panicked then may be the single exposure limit is applied. We have no complaints against the businessman who is a paying master. He can take all the money from the bank for expanding his business.” Kamal said.

Currently, Bangladesh’s commercial bank cannot lend more than 25 per cent of their paid up capital to a person or institution or group.

kabirhumayan10@gmail.com

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