Govt hopes to receive $1b loan from IMF this fiscal year: Finance secy
"An IMF team will arrive in Bangladesh on 4 December for final discussions on this matter," said Finance Secretary Muhammad Khairuzzaman Mozumder
Bangladesh hopes to receive $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, and additional support has also been requested for the current three-year loan program with the global lender, said Finance Secretary Dr Muhammad Khairuzzaman Mozumder today (19 November).
"We hope to receive one billion dollars from the IMF within this fiscal year. An IMF team will arrive in Bangladesh on 4 December for final discussions on this matter," he said during a press conference in the Ministry of Finance conference room at the Secretariat today (19 November).
Khairuzzaman said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $600 million and the World Bank $500 million in budgetary support by this December.
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Govt to make money loan courts more active
The government is taking steps to make the money loan courts more active in recovering default loans, said Salehuddin Ahmed, finance adviser to the interim government, during the press conference.
"At the same time, efforts are being made to expedite the disposal of writ petitions [on default loans] in the High Court," he added.
Mentioning that two benches in the High Court are dedicated to settling writ cases, Salehuddin said he discussed with the attorney general and the governor to ensure these benches focus solely on handling writ cases related to default loans for the next three months.
No banks will close
During the press conference, Salehuddin Ahmed said no banks will be closed.
"While some banks might continue to struggle, corrections are being made to address the negative syndromes in the banking sector. Islami Bank is recovering. The interim government has no intention of closing any banks," he said.
The finance adviser said one of the primary goals of the interim government is to restore lost trust in the banking sector and ensure the protection of depositors.
Mentioning that honest business people have no reason to fear, he said those who repay their loans properly and pay their taxes will face no problems.
"Those who exploited various loopholes during the previous government's tenure are the ones afraid now," Salehuddin said.
During the press conference, Nazma Mubarak, the secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, said swift measures will be taken to ensure the weak banks currently unable to return depositors' money can return the money.
