Ahsan H. Mansur, the governor of Bangladesh Bank, has advised the public not to purchase any S Alam Group properties since the group’s assets will be sold by the government to pay back the depositors who are worried.
In response to a question concerning the organization’s alleged efforts to sell its properties, he made the call during a press conference on Wednesday.
“It needs to be carried out in compliance with legal procedures… We will request the government to take steps in this regard. Besides, no one should acquire the group’s properties, as the proceeds from their sale will be used to repay the depositors,” he explained.
Saiful Alam, the group’s owner, was referred to by the governor of the national bank as the first person in history to have intentionally plundered a bank. “I’m not sure if anyone else in the world has plundered banks with such meticulous planning.”
In relation to banking reforms, Ahsan H. Mansur stated that a banking commission will be established in about a month, working with Bangladesh Bank and outside experts.
“We have asked the new board of Islami Bank to submit their action plan within a week,” he said, going into further detail about their plans to support the bank. This requires hard effort; it is not a place to laze around. Bangladesh Bank will offer a wide range of support.
He threatened to oust the bank’s board once more if it was unable to carry out its duties in a competent manner. Everybody is under observation. Everyone who engages in irregularities will not be spared.
He went on to say that any banks found to have anomalies would face similar measures.
He claimed that measures have been taken to limit the rising rate of inflation. The value of the dollar has not changed. Inflation should start to decline in the following six to seven months if current trends continue.
There is no chance of reserves declining because the central bank is not selling dollars. The interbank foreign currency market is even meeting government expectations. As a result, he continued, it is anticipated that the reserves would increase.
The governor urged depositors to remain patient and avoid withdrawing all their deposits at once.
“We do not want any deposits to be lost. We will not print money to help repay the deposits, as it would not be beneficial for the nation and would push inflation up to 100 per cent. Please withdraw money as much as necessary. The situation will change in five to six months,” he explained.
