Highest data anomalies taking place in banking sector: Ahsan H Mansur

The banking sector is suffering from more data anomalies than any other sector in the country, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh.

The actual nonperforming loans (NPLs) are around 25 percent but on paper it is hovering around 10 percent, the economist said today in a discussion.

A huge amount of bad loan is hidden under the carpet, which should come out, he said while addressing the discussion on the "Reason for the bad state of Bangladesh's banking sector", organised by the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF).

The total amount of NPL in the banking sector stood at Tk 182,000 crore at the end of March this year, which is more than 11 percent of the total disbursed loans, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.

However, economic experts and industry insiders said the actual amount of bad loans in the sector are more than Tk 4 lakh crore.

There is a lack of transparency in the banking sector now, he said.

Mansur said the financial sector has become the worst sector in the last 10 years and the country is now facing both US dollar and taka crisis due to poor governance.