Home
+
Published : 12 Jun 2026, 11:40 PM
Bangladesh Bank Md Mostaqur Rahman, who has been plagued by allegations of being a loan defaulter, has spoken to the media about his situation.
At a press conference on Friday, a journalist cited the experience of a female customer who was unable to withdraw money even after going to the bank during the current crisis.
“The female customer’s comment is that the current governor is also a loan defaulter. How can he improve the bank?” he asked.
After that, Governor Mostaqur said, “I have heard this a lot in the past four months that the governor is a loan defaulter. I have never explained it because I often tell my journalist friends that it is better not to talk about regulators.”
The governor spoke about a factory he had a stake in, saying it had never closed for a single day, never been reliant on big export orders, and had never had trouble paying salaries month-to-month.
According to the governor, the factory took out a loan from the bank at an interest rate of 4 percent to implement the project. After investing Tk 1.5 billion in the project, the bank later said that the fund had run out. The bank informed him that the loan would have to be taken at the prevailing commercial interest rate.
The governor said, ''Suddenly, since the interest rate was 11 percent, so naturally the repayment (loan repayment) did not happen as per the previous projection (plan).''
Also, commenting on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and other economic headwinds, Mostaqur said, ''This is certain that we have never asked for a single paisa, a single taka loan waiver. We did not ask for an interest waiver. The institution has paid over Tk 1 billion to the bank.''
Mostaqur was the managing director and shareholder of Hera Sweaters. Even though the governor provided so much information, he skillfully avoided answering the question of the institution's default.
Hera Sweaters defaulted on a loan taken from a private bank. When the Tk 860 million loan taken from the private Mutual Trust Bank defaulted, Hera Sweaters renewed it.
Cash Support for Islami Bank
Three days after Islami Bank Bangladesh asked the central bank for Tk 100 billion in liquidity support, Bangladesh Bank clarified it would provide the troubled lender with a cash injection, but has not specified the amount.
At a post-budget press conference in Dhaka on Friday, Governor Mostaqur said the depositors at the troubled bank will see the existing cash crisis resolved in a few days.
"It’s being rumoured on social media that the government is illegally interfering in Islami Bank. We’ve not done so. We didn't order any loan or anyone’s transfer. We didn’t dictate anyone’s promotion either," he said.
Hinting at resolving the unrest of Islami Bank, Mostaqur said: "Bangladesh Bank has some rules, regulations and tools. We’ll implement those.
“We’ll provide liquidity support. There’ll be no difficulty for depositors in the next few days. They can withdraw their deposits freely at any time. There will be problem doing this."
Amid street protests and heated exchanges in parliament over Islami Bank, the troubled lender sought Tk 100 billion in liquidity support on Jun 9.
The Shariah-based bank said it is facing increasing “pressure on cash withdrawals” amid heated discussions surrounding the appointment of a new chairman.
The next day, an observer was appointed to the bank.
The crisis deepened after the central bank appointed Khurshid Alam to chair the Shariah-based bank’s board of directors on May 24.
It was followed by hours-long street protests where demonstrators clashed with police outside the bank's headquarters in Motijheel. It also led to heated exchanges in parliament.
Meantime, the amount of deposit withdrawals from the bank has crossed Tk 30 billion.
