No incentives for business losses in student protests: Cenbank

The Bangladesh Bank says it will not provide any kind of incentives to businesses to offset their financial losses caused by the curfew and general holidays declared amid the deadly violence centred on the Student Movement Against Discrimination.

Recently, businesspeople have been asking the central bank for several benefits, including loan repayment concessions, from various trade bodies.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, top officials of the country's banking sector regulator said no such facility would be offered. 

Kazi Sayedur Rahman, deputy governor of the Bangladesh Bank, said, "Businessmen received many concessions during the Covid-19 pandemic and later following the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war. Now, there is no opportunity to provide such concessions to businesses. All businesses will have to repay their loans on time."

At the beginning of his speech, he prayed for the forgiveness of the souls of the martyrs in the student movement, which left more than 400 dead and several thousand injured, and at the same time, he wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He said the unrest has been caused by long-standing anger and deprivation among the people.

"Our post-Covid reserves have come down as deferred payments and imports have also gone up. Now we will arrange to bring export earnings, which are stuck abroad, as soon as possible. At the same time, we hope that expatriates will send a large amount of remittances when the new government is formed, as a result of which our reserves will go up again," said the deputy governor.

"We cannot avoid responsibility for the damage done to our economy in the past because we didn't get a chance to properly address the issues. There were many factors as to why we did not address them."

He said if the problems could have been properly addressed, the economy would not be bleeding like this. But now is the chance to stop all the bleeding.

Sayedur said, "We have zero tolerance for irregularities. Our bank officers are very professional. If there has been any corruption or money laundering, we will address it in the light of the law."

He expressed his optimism that their officers would work with enthusiasm and courage. They have a renewed sense of freedom. They are very talented, honest, and brave.

He said they have kept banking operations open so that financial transactions are not hampered. Besides, international payments should remain normal.

Md Khurshid Alam, another deputy governor of the central bank, said, "We have to work within many constraints. Our stance was, 'Just as you can't fight crocodiles in water.' Now we will be able to tackle corruption with full strength."

"We have to navigate various limitations and challenges. We can crack down on irregularities when we have job security. I believe we will be able to work independently under the all-party government," he added.

At the programme, Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar said, "There are sufficient laws in place to address irregularities and corruption in the country's financial sector. These laws could not be enforced earlier due to various limitations, but now is the time for their proper implementation."

"Our country is celebrating a new victory, though much blood has been shed. I believe that if a new all-party government is formed, we will move towards a brighter future for Bangladesh," hoped the senior official at the central bank.

"We had many things to say in the past but could not voice them. You understand why we were unable to do so; we had to contend with numerous challenges. Hopefully, these limitations will no longer exist."