Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank of Bangladesh has asked the commercial banks to settle all overdue accepted bills amicably within the next 15 days to ensure discipline in the country’s banking sector.
The commercial banks have also been instructed to file criminal cases against persons found involved in scams like Sonali Bank Limited.
The directives came at a regular bankers’ meeting held in the central bank on Thursday with Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair.
The BB’s instructions came against the backdrop of rising trend of overdue accepted bills following the Hallmark Group scam in the Sonali Bank Limited recently.
“The banks may go to arbitration of the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association (BAFEDA) for settlement of the overdue bills after the deadline,” Deputy Governor of the BB SK Sur Chowdury told reporters after the meeting.
“We’ll take stern action against the banks concerned if the settlement was not made in the BAFEDA,” Mr. Sur said, adding that the central bank will adjust the bills after deduction of money from the commercial bank concerned account.
The total number of overdue accepted bills in the banking sector stood at 7,260 involving around US$ 363 million equivalent to BDT 29.71 billion as of June 30 last, the BB data showed.
 
BBN/SSR/AD-13Sept12-5:40 pm (BST)