In light of three new banks being issued letters of intent (LoI) from Bangladesh Bank on Sunday, Kamal said the central bank and the authorities concerned have approved the new banks on the basis of detailed analysis. The banks are Bengal Commercial Bank, People's Bank and Citizen Bank. "It has to be seen whether there is a demand for more banks and not ponder over the increasing number of banks," the minister added. "NPLs also increase bank's expenses, forcing them to increase lending rates," the minister said. The decision to issue LoIs to the three new banks was taken at a board of directors meeting, held at Bangladesh Bank headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 18, 2019 16:41 UTC