Dhaka, Oct. 19 -- Genuine reform in Bangladesh's banking sector will remain elusive unless those responsible for looting banks under political protection during the past Awami League regime are held accountable, experts said at a seminar in Dhaka on Saturday.

They cautioned that recapitalising the collapsing institutions without legal action simply repeats a decades-long cycle in which depositors and taxpayers bear the cost of misconduct by politically-connected borrowers.

The seminar, titled "Bangladesh's Banking Crisis: The Way Forward", was organised by the Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, with United News of Bangladesh as media partner.

Discussants said the banking sector's current fragility stems less ...