Dhaka, July 28 -- The recent disclosure by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed that the IMF has nearly doubled its estimated cost for reforming Bangladesh's banking sector - from $18 billion to an alarming $35 billion - has cast a stark light on the depth of the crisis afflicting the nation's financial system.
This revelation is not merely a matter of figures; it is a clear indictment of decades of mismanagement, regulatory negligence, and institutional decay.
Dr Ahmed's warning that approximately 80 per cent of the banking sector's funds have been misappropriated, with Tk 16,000 crore of Tk 20,000 crore in outstanding loans effectively "disappeared", is nothing short of catastrophic.
It reflects a system in free fall-one where accountab...