The nine new commercial banks have no default loans during the October-December quarter of 2013 as their disbursed loans were little as compared to other commercial banks, Bangladesh Bank officials said.

Most of the new banks have brought fund at higher cost while they provided loan at 7% to 8% rate of interest, said a senior executive of a new commercial bank.

“Our chairman directed collecting enough fund and give more loan to the potential clients to increase the loan amount of the banks.”

Bangladesh Bank released the classified loan data for the second

quarter of 2013-14 fiscal year on Thursday last.

Default loans in banks rose by 1.52 percentage point or Tk7,589 crore in the first quarter this year, compared to the quarter that ended in December last year.

The amount went up as the classified loans of the banks that misused due to a relaxed policy Bangladesh Bank introduced for borrowers, who were affected by political turmoil last year.

On March 31, the total amount of default loans in banks was Tk48,172 crore or 10.45% of the total outstanding loans, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics. On December 31 last year, the amount was Tk40,583 crore or 8.93% of the total outstanding loans.

The total outstanding loan of Union Bank is Tk1,085 crore and there was no default loan at end of December 2013 .

South Bangla Agricultural and Commerce Bank’s outstanding loan is Limited Tk459.57 crore, NBR Commercial Bank Limited Tk688 crore , Meghna Bank Limited Tk248 crore , Midland Bank Limited Tk282 crore , The Farmers Bank Limited Tk105 crore , NRB Bank Limited Tk94 crore , Modhumoti Bank Tk53 crore  and NRB Global Bank Limited Tk370 crore.

Managing director of a new bank said new banks have failed to collect enough fund from the market because of sluggish economic situation. He said they have taken caution while lending to the potential clients.

The central bank approved nine new banks in two phases in 2013 to take the country’s total number of scheduled banks to 56, of which, 39 are private, nine foreign and eight are state-owned. The new banks were established with Tk400 crore of paid-up capital each.

Following the nationalisation of banks after the country’s independence in 1971, the government awarded licences to private banks at first in 1983. The second set of such banks were allowed in 1995 and the third set in 2001.