State-owned Sonali Bank has been instructed by the central bank to reclassify a Tk106 crore loan to Orion Infrastructure Ltd as a non-performing asset.
The lender has been given until 22 August to reclassify the loan and report the matter to the Credit Information Bureau.
The directive follows repeated failures by Orion to meet repayment deadlines.
"Should any of our clients fail to repay their loans, the loan will be reclassified and reported to the central bank," said Sonali Bank Managing Director Md Afzal Karim.
Central bank records indicate the loan was already classified as "bad and loss" up until December of last year.
Despite four missed instalments, the classification was suspended following special approval. However, a condition imposed last year requiring full repayment of outstanding instalments by May 2024 has not been met.
A subsequent inspection revealed that while Orion made a cash payment of Tk2 crore and issued cheques totalling Tk15 crore, these cheques remain uncleared. As such, the loan remains ineligible for its current classification.
The loan was originally disbursed to fund the construction of the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover in Dhaka.
By December last year, the principal and interest owed stood at Tk30 crore and Tk75.80 crore respectively.
Orion Group Managing Director Salman Obaidul Karim attributed the payment delays to adverse business conditions.
He insisted the company has not defaulted on any payments.
