Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) have provided their updated information about default loans to the central bank.

“We’ve submitted our updated information about default position as on October 31 to the central bank on Saturday,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Agrani Bank Limited Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed told BBN in Dhaka.

On Thursday last, the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, asked banks and NBFIs to keep their credit information bureau (CIB) cells open Friday and Saturday to provide default loan-related information to it.

He also said the bank is now working to update information about the loan defaulters in line with the Election Commission (EC) advice.

The EC earlier asked the commercial banks and NBFIs for updating their information about the loan defaulters who might be candidates for the next elections.

As part of the move, the EC has sent a list of elected MPs from 1973 to 2001 to them (banks and NBFIs) to prepare a list of possible loan-defaulters who are likely to be candidates for the next parliament and upazila elections.

Loan and utility bills defaulters cannot participate in the national election as per the existing Representation of the People Order (RPO).

According to the RPO, a person will be disqualified for the elections, if he or she is a loanee, other than of small loans for agricultural purposes, and has defaulted in repaying before fifteen days from the day of submission of nomination paper any loan or an instalment thereof, taken by him from a bank or financial institution.

Besides, the person will be disqualified for the elections, if he or she has personally failed to pay the telephone, gas, electricity, water and any other bill of any service-providing organization of the government before fifteen days from the day of submission of nomination paper.

BBN/SI/SSR/AD-09November08-1:01 PM (BST)