Either profit or shut it down: Minister to BASIC Bank   

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has put BASIC Bank officials in a ‘do or die’ situation, as he told them — either make a profit or the bank will be shut down. He also warned that branches that have been making a loss in the last two years would be closed down if they do no turn into profitable ones this year.    
“Willful defaulters will be hunted down. They will not be allowed to leave the country,” said Kamal urging defaulters to pay back their loans.      
He was addressing the BASIC Bank board of directors on Thursday at Sena Kalyan Bhaban. The minister also rejected a crest from the bank’s senior management saying: “If you can improve within a year, I will take it.”       
Other invited guests also followed in the footstep of the minister.   
“An established bank can’t be allowed to waste away like this. Either it will survive or close down, it totally depends on you. You have to earn your salaries,” Kamal added.    
“I will not waive anyone’s loan. You contact your customers; I’ll provide you only with logistic support.” 
Mentioning that BASIC Bank incurred a loss of Tk354 crore last year, the minister also said that a special audit would be initiated for the bank. 
Additional Secretary to the Financial Institution Division Fazlul Haque, meantime, said: “The bank started its journey in 2009 with only 700 employees. Now it has more than 2000 employees.”