DHAKA, April 22, 2024 (BSS) - Noted economist and Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Chairman Professor Dr Rehman Sobhan has said that the central bank's statistics on Non-Performing Loan (NPL) is not reliable as a large amount of such loans are not shown in balance-sheets.

"This increasing trend of default loans is escalating disparity in the country," he told a book launching ceremony at BRAC Centre in the capital yesterday.

The book titled "Is Bangladesh Paradox Sustainable" was launched under the arrangement of research organization SANEM. The organization's executive director Selim Raihan, Francois Bourguignon, and Umar Salam edited the book which was published from Cambridge University Press.

Terming Ziaur Rahman as the originator of loan default culture in the country, Rehman Sobhan said during that period, the World Bank (WB) also acted as the driving force of creating default loans.

At that time, a huge amount of loan was given for the development of private sector at the suggestions of the World Bank without considering the balance-sheet of banks, he alleged.

Loan was given to the country's private sector through Bangladesh Shilpa Bank (BSB) and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha (BSRS), said Rehman Sobhan.

"Though loan default had increased, the WB didn't say anything," he said, adding but subsequently, the World Bank had become very vocal on loan default.

Noting that many people are getting advantage of loan rescheduling since 1980 to 2024, the noted economist said through this, the state is providing special advantage to a group of people which means the state is intervening in income distribution.

Besides, they are getting various facilities, including tax waiver, he added.

Terming this situation as a discriminatory one, Rehman Sobhan said this is a partial failure of both policy and institutions.

The CPD chairman also urged the researchers to take special initiative to find out the true picture of NPL.

Presenting his own experience in this context, the economist said when he was serving as the director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), he had sent one Akhtar Mahmud to Shilpa Bank to find out the true picture of default loans.

After going there, Akhtar saw there was no file on default loans in Shilpa Bank, Rehman Sobhan said.

Later, he was taken to store room and after searching as many as 400 files, Akhtar found 80 to 90 percent loans as default.

Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr. Mashiur Rahman joined the programme as the chief guest while BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) Senior Research Fellow Mirza M Hasan, Policy Research Institute Chairman Dr. Zaidi Sattar and UK Ulster University's Professor of Development Economics SR Osmani also spoke on the occasion.