Depositors' confidence in banking sector restored: Salehuddin
“To revive the banks, the government has taken initiatives to ensure the steady flow of money in the market and boost the foreign exchange reserves...,” he said
The government has been able to bring back people's confidence in the banking sector by implementing different initiatives, including ensuring the safety of the depositors' money, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has said.
"To revive the banks, the government has taken initiatives to ensure the steady flow of money in the market and boost the foreign exchange reserves and these were the major initiatives of the interim government to regain people's confidence in banking sector," he said while talking to BSS in a recent interview at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the city.
After taking charge of the interim government, Salehuddin said, "We saw that all the indicators of the country's economy were in a very bad position."
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At that time, he said, the situation was such that people in the banking sector did not have the capacity to honour cheques as the previous management withdrew money anonymously and embezzled it.
As a result, he said, there was a negative mindset among the people about the country's banking sector.
"Depositors were in a position to think that if they keep money in the bank, they would not get it back. To overcome the situation, we have immediately given banks Taka 22,000 crore to support the depositors," he added.
Salehuddin said the government is also providing other policy supports to the banks for bringing back the confidence of depositors.
"We are ensuring the safety of the depositors' money so that their confidence in the banks and the financial sector comes back. Recently, depositors have started returning to the banks. They have started depositing money," he added.
He said that since the interim government took office, strict steps have been taken to increase the reserves and restore discipline in the financial sector.
"We are discouraging hundi. As a result, those who are working abroad and sending money to the country can understand and see that the situation is stable. Besides, they are getting some additional incentives. That is why our remittance flow is good," he added.
Besides, he said, the upward trend of export, government's restriction on unnecessary imports and a stable forex reserves are encouraging expatriates to send home money through legal channels.
"Steps have been taken against money laundering. This has also discouraged them from sending money in hundi. They are seeing that the personal accounts of big companies who were involved in money laundering are being frozen, they are being held accountable and they are being brought to justice," he said.
He said that the government started taking action against 11 or 12 big companies including S Alam, Bashundhara, Summit Power and Salman F Rahman. However, it will take time to complete it, he added.
As for the exchange rate, Salehuddin said the foreign exchange market remains stable.
