Md Mehedi Hasan

Prime Finance and Investment Ltd (PFIL) is facing renewed pressure as depositors protest and seek immediate intervention from Bangladesh Bank (BB), saying the troubled non-bank financial institution has failed to meet the central bank’s conditions and repay their money.

Three of the nine banks that entered the market in 2013 after receiving licences from the then Awami League government are now weighed down by non-performing loans (NPLs), according to Bangladesh Bank data and audited financial statements.

A leadership vacuum has left Islami Bank, the country’s largest private sector lender, in a state of limbo, with major decisions and strategic initiatives effectively stalled.

A large number of employees were recruited at Islami Bank Bangladesh during the S Alam era in violation of recruitment rules, without job advertisements or written examinations, according to a Bangladesh Bank inspection report that uncovered widespread irregularities.

Around three and a half months after Bangladesh Bank announced guidelines for a loan scheme to reopen closed factories, not a single taka has been disbursed under the Tk 20,000 crore programme.

A sharp rise in Bangla QR transactions since July has raised concerns among industry insiders, including mobile financial service providers, who suspect that a portion of the surge may be driven by fake or suspicious payments rather than genuine purchases.

Ten banks accounted for more than 72 percent of the banking sector’s total non-performing loans, according to the central bank, showing that the country’s 61 commercial lenders are not equally responsible for the sector’s financial distress.

Ahsanul Haque Tanvir, a customer of First Security Islami Bank’s (FSIBL) Topkhana Road branch, repeatedly visited the bank over the past one and a half years to withdraw his deposit of Tk 48 lakh, but in vain. On Monday, he finally withdrew the full amount from his savings account.