State banks on a loan rescheduling spree

Jebun Nesa Alo

State-run banks are fervently rescheduling loans with a view to flattering their true financial health.

In 2017, Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali and BASIC rescheduled loans amounting to about Tk 5,000 crore, in contrast to Tk 3,300 crore a year earlier, according to data from the central bank.

Janata regularised the highest amount of loans: Tk 1,433 crore. As a result, the bank's default loan ratio came down to 14.10 percent at the end of last year from 16.14 percent in 2016.

The bank's other financial indicators though deteriorated during the course of 2017.

At the end of last year, it had a capital shortfall of Tk 161.48 crore, which was Tk 278 crore in the surplus the previous year.

Janata's net profit too plummeted 1.6 times to Tk 96.77 crore in 2017 from Tk 260.55 crore the previous year.

Agrani rescheduled the next highest amount of loans in 2017: Tk 1,288 crore. In 2016, it had rescheduled Tk 540 crore.

The huge rescheduling helped the bank to bring down its default loan ratio to 18.31 percent at the end of last year from 29.32 percent a year earlier.

It logged in a net profit of Tk 88 crore in 2017, bouncing back from losses of Tk 697 crore the previous year.

Scam-hit BASIC Bank rescheduled loans amounting to Tk 949 crore in 2017, up from Tk 788 crore the previous year.

The bank saw improvements in some performance indicators last year.

Its default loan ratio came down to 52.73 percent in December 2017 from 54.58 percent a year earlier.

Its capital shortage narrowed to Tk 2,656 crore last year from Tk 2,866 crore the previous year. It also saw a net profit of Tk 24.68 crore in 2017 from a loss of Tk 1,493 crore in 2016.

Rupali rescheduled loans of Tk 948 crore last year, in contrast to Tk 644 crore the previous year.

Despite this significant amount of rescheduling, the bank's default loan stood at 21.71 percent in December 2017, from 20.64 percent a year earlier.

However, the bank made a net profit of Tk 48.33 crore last year, recovering from a loss of Tk 126 crore in 2016.  Sonali, the largest state-owned bank in the country, rescheduled the lowest amount of loans in 2017: Tk 293 crore.

The bank's default loan ratio surged to 38.11 percent at the end of last year from 33.40 percent the previous year.

The high default loan ratio has put the bank in huge capital shortage: Tk 5,397 crore. A year earlier, it had a capital surplus of Tk 149.48 crore.

However, the bank's net profit more than doubled to Tk 398 crore last year.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star/ May 21, 2018