Bangladesh Bank has lent Tk 12.5 billion to three private sector banks to make their financial accounts look good for the outgoing year. The three banks are Islami Bank, National Bank and AB Bank. With this money, the banks covered the current account deficit on the last day of the year last Monday. As a result, the current account of the three banks showed a surplus.

Bangladesh Bank officials say that the central bank will take back the money it gave to the three banks for financial accounting purposes on Wednesday. In addition, Bangladesh Bank has given 200 crore taka to AB Bank as separate liquidity support outside the loan.

According to relevant sources, in the last 15 years, the bank has faced three major liquidity crises due to various irregularities. Among them, the Chittagong-based S Alam Group, which was involved in the ownership of Islami Bank, withdrew Tk 73,000 crore from the bank through various irregularities in the name of loans, which is about 50 percent of the bank's total loans. In addition, Beximco, Maisha, Bashundhara, FMC, Saif Port Holding and Saif Powertech, NASA, Fu-Wang Food and SS Steel and Karnaphuli Group have withdrawn large sums of money from the bank in the name of loans. These loans are no longer being regularly collected. In the meantime, the loan of the late Awami League MP Aslamul Haque's Maisha Group taken from National Bank has become defaulted. Other defaulters of this bank include Bloom Success International, Broadway Real Estate, Nurjahan Group, Dyking Smart Battery, Ehsan Group, Millennium Group, Opex Sinha Group, Maryam Construction, RSA Capital, Keya Cosmetic, Independent TV and GMG Airlines.

Apart from this, AB Bank has also been suffering from a liquidity crisis for a long time due to various irregularities. One of the entrepreneurs of the bank is former Foreign Minister of the BNP government M Morshed Khan. The bank has been under the control of his family since its establishment. There have also been major irregularities and frauds in the bank.

Central bank officials say that due to loan irregularities, the three banks have not been able to maintain the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory reserve ratio (SLR) set by the central bank for a long time. The banks have borrowed money from the central bank by mortgaging the treasury bills and bonds that these banks had for the SLR. As a result, these banks do not have any means or resources to borrow new money. For this, Bangladesh Bank has given special loans to the three banks to show a current account surplus on the last day of the year.

According to sources related to the central bank, out of the 12.5 billion taka loan given by Bangladesh Bank to the three banks, Islami Bank has received 5.5 billion taka. National Bank has received 6 billion taka and AB Bank has received 1 billion taka. The banks will have to pay interest at the rate of 11.5 percent against these loans. The money lent last Monday will be withdrawn today, Wednesday.

It is learnt that Bangladesh Bank has given another Tk 200 crore to AB Bank in addition to the special loan of Tk 1,000 crore. This money was lent to meet the bank's daily liquidity needs.