NCC Bank boss says

Banks are failing to bring down the lending rates to a single digit because of high default loans, NCC Bank Managing Director Golam Hafiz Ahmed said yesterday.
The high default loans are preventing them from turning a big amount of interest into income, Ahmed said at a press briefing at the bank's headquarters in Dhaka on the occasion of its 31st anniversary.
The banks charge more interest rates on credit to increase their profitability, Ahmed said as he presented the future plans of the bank.
NCC Bank made an operating profit of Tk 82.3 crore in the first quarter and its annual profit was Tk 379.63 crore last year.
The economy came to a near shutdown last year due to unprecedented political turmoil, obstructing all business activities at a point of no return, he said.
Ahmed said a huge fall in credit demand compelled them to release some corporate deposits to keep the spread at a tolerable level and ensure an optimum profit at the end of the year. The bank has cooperated with the clients in the past so that they can start their business afresh overcoming losses, and will continue to do so in future, Ahmed said.
In the preceding years, NCC Bank launched crash programmes, which reduced default loans, he said, adding that such steps would continue.
The bank that has 101 branches across the country plans to reach out to more areas.
The bank is financing the most in power generation, water treatment plant, roads and highways, Ahmed said. It bankrolled the Tk 350 crore Nababganj Power Plant jointly with the World Bank.
The banks and the central bank have been working together to bring the lending rates down to a single digit, NCC Bank Chairman Nurun Newaz Salim said.