IBBL seeks Tk 11 billion in loans from Sonali Bank
Staff Correspondent
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, or IBBL, which is suffering from a liquidity crisis, has sought Tk 11 billion in loans from state-owned Sonali Bank.
The Sharia-based bank will get the money if Bangladesh Bank approves the loan as a guarantor.
Sonali Bank's top officials said they would provide the loan to Islami Bank, which had surplus liquidity once. However, no official decision has been taken yet.
On Tuesday, the Islami Bank sent a letter to the central bank requesting to become a guarantor for the loan.
However, Bangladesh Bank did not give the green light to this end until Wednesday.
IBBL, one of the country’s largest banks, was hit by a liquidity crisis after S Alam Group, who forcibly took control of the bank during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, took out a huge amount of money through various irregularities. After the collapse of the government, it got worse.
A draft has been prepared on how crisis-hit banks will borrow from the interbank market with central bank guarantees.
A central bank official said the bank which will take the loan will have to obtain verbal consent from the other party beforehand. This has to be approved by the bank's board. The next phase is the application to Bangladesh Bank.
The officials stated that the borrowing bank will have to showcase a plan of how much money will be taken, how it will be paid, and what will be the interest rate. If the loan is not repaid in three months, the bank will get another nine months. Bangladesh Bank will also get a commission for providing the guarantee.
