Syed Manzur Elahi, executive board member of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) attends a workshop on credit risk management in Dhaka yesterday. Mamun Rashid, dean of BRAC Business School; Johnson Chang, chief risk officer of HSBC Bangladesh, and Ataur Rahman, secretary general of ICCB, were also present.

Bangladesh economy presently stands at $100 billion and this could have been double to $200 billion with better management of fund by the commercial banks, said a former caretaker government adviser yesterday.

The credit risk management by the banks is significantly important as they are utilising public money for providing credit for investment, said Syed Manzur Elahi, also the chairman of Apex Group.

Elahi spoke at the inaugural session of a workshop on credit risk management organised by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh in the capital, the chamber said in a statement yesterday.

He said the rate of non-performing loans of the state owned banks are the highest followed by private commercial banks and foreign banks. As a result, liquidity gets affected, ultimately hampering investment in development project by the banks, he said.

Elahi appreciated the Bangladesh Bank manual of credit risk. He said the manual is very comprehensive and if properly followed will definitely reduce credit risk.

It will also help better management of fund, he said. Elahi further suggested that Bangladesh Bank should build up more professional capacity and increased manpower to monitor the risk provided by the banks.

He, however, feared that it will be difficult for the central bank to monitor liquidity closely as more banks are coming in the near future.

Mamun Rashid, dean of BRAC Business School and chairman of ICC Bangladesh Standing Committee on Banking, Technique and Practices, emphasised the need for appropriate tools and mechanism to mitigate credit risk management.

Johnson Chang, credit risk officer of HSBC Bangladesh and resource person of the workshop, and Ataur Rahman, ICCB secretary general, also spoke.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 25th March 2012