Dhaka: Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur today assured depositors that they would get their money back from weak banks. “I assure that you will get your money or bonds back in phases,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop on microfinance at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Mansur stated that he had repeatedly warned against depositing funds in certain banks over the past decade. “I have been advising for the past ten years not to keep money in S Alam’s banks, but many chose to deposit there for an extra two percent profit,” he said.
Ahsan H Mansur highlighted that the upcoming five years will bring more challenges for microfinance institutions. He noted the current presence of 24,000 branches of microfinance institutions across the country, which matches the number of agent banking outlets by banks. However, banks are expected to increase their agent banking outlets to around 60,000 in the next five years.
He further explained the growing competition faced by microcredit institutions, emphasizing that mobile financial service providers are now offering loans and collecting deposits, alongside the emergence of digital banks, which will pose new challenges for these institutions.
The governor also reported that in the 2023-24 fiscal year, microfinance institutions disbursed loans amounting to Tk 3 lakh crore, marking a 5.26% increase from the previous year.