Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- 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, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.
“The issue will be discussed in the bankers’ meeting on Thursday,” a BB senior official said, adding that the BB would ask the commercial banks to take necessary measures to settle the overdue accepted bills immediately.
He also said different issues including inland bill purchase (IBP), interest rate spread, cash deposit ratio (CDR) and the latest instructions regarding loan classification, provisioning and rescheduling would be discussed in the bankers’ meeting.
“The issue of Hallmark Group scam is not on the meeting’s agenda but may come up for discussion,” another central banker said.
The Hallmark Group and some other business entities have allegedly swindled funds worth minimum BDT 35.47 billion from the Sonali Bank. The embezzlement, also involving 57 branches of 27 commercial banks, used the accommodation bill against back-to-back letters of credit (LCs) by ignoring banking rules and regulations, according to the BB officials.
BBN/SSR/AD-13Sept12-12:40 am (BST)
