The rising non-performing loans (NPLs) and excess liquidity have become major areas of concern for the country's banking sector.

Besides, the number of large loans is also on the rise while the amount of credit received by small and medium enterprises has declined.

The revelations were made on Tuesday by speakers at a workshop on 'review of credit activities in 2016'. The workshop was organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) at its auditorium in the city.

Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hasan was present on the occasion as the chief guest.

BIBM Director Dr. Prashanta Kumar Banerjee presented the keynote paper at the workshop with BIBM Director General Dr. Toufic Ahmad Choudhury in the chair.

The workshop was told the NPLs in the banking system stood at 10.10 per cent of the aggregate amount of loans until June 2016 compared to 8.8 per cent as of June 2015.

Terming the pace at both NPLs and excess liquidity were growing a cause of concern for the banking sector, Mr. Razee said the central bank already took some steps to minimise the risks of banks.

Speaking on the occasion, BIBM supernumerary and former managing director of Pubali Bank Helal Ahmed Chowdhury said since recovery of default loans is a time-consuming process, the option of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can help address the problem.

He also suggested establishment of a data bank like CIB (credit information bureau) of Bangladesh Bank for getting information on properties to be mortgaged for sanctioning bank loans.

In his speech, another BIBM supernumerary, Md. Yasin Ali, said that the NPLs in the state-owned banks accounts for about 40 per cent of the total while it is only 1.0 per cent in foreign banks operating in Bangladesh, a big difference.

In his keynote paper, Dr. Prashanta suggested enhancement of credit flow to rural areas side by side with the urban areas.