Recapitalisation of state banks encourages wrongdoers: Amir Khosru

BNP leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today criticised the government for recapitalising the state-owned banks despite their non-stop financial malpractices.

The former commerce minister said continuous recapitalisation with the taxpayers’ money gives a wrong signal and encourage the culprits to loot the money again and again.

“Culprits have taken away thousands of crore taka from state banks. They have looted the money with state patronisation,” he said while addressing a dialogue on the proposed budget for fiscal 2015-16 organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at Lake Shore Hotel in the capital.

Prof Rehman Sobhan chaired the discussion, while Prof Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the CPD, made presentation on the budget.

The government allocated Tk 5,000 crore in the outgoing year for recapitalisation of the state banks. Most of the money went to support the scam-hit Sonali and Basic banks. The proposed budget for the coming year has also earmarked around Tk 5,000 crore for the same purpose.