Staff Reporter :
When the common people of the country are being made to suffer from essential commodities price hike amid economic crisis, the income of the rich people continue to rise, as the number of millionaire depositors is increasing in different banks.
According to the latest data of Bangladesh Bank, the number of depositors of Tk one crore and above in different banks would be about 1,08,457, which was 1,03,597 in three months ago.
While in the quarter of December 2021, the number was 1,01,976.
The number of accounts above one crore taka was 99,918 in June 2021. The number of depositors of taka one crore have increased by 8,539 within a year, 6,481 in six months and 4,860 in three months, BB sources said.
This information was obtained by reviewing the updated report of the Central Bank based on June 2022.
According to the central bank report, the total number of depositors in the banking sector till June 2022 is 12,95,14, 513, which deposited Tk 15,73,823 crore in their respective bank accounts.
While, the number of depositors till March 2022 was 12 ,73,52,893 and deposited a total of Tk 15,14, 895 crores during the period.
Besides, the total number of depositors in the banking sector till June 2021 was 12,15,49,266 and their deposits were Tk 14,39,763 crore within the period.
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Saleh Uddin Ahmed told this correspondent that it is nothing but the inequality of income and wealth.
“The rich are becoming more richer and the incomes of the lower middle and middle classes are shrinking,” he said in reply to a query.
Mentioning the fact that the small ones are being discriminated in all cases, Dr. Saleh Uddin Ahmed said that the big businessmen got more benefits during the time COVID-19 pandemic period and still getting the same facilities.
“The big businessmen get more opportunities from domestic business to foreign trade. I have seen the newspapers that the bank is giving 95-96 taka per dollar to finance export bills of small exporters and it will not give more than that. But big factories and garment traders are getting 99 to 101 taka. Due to such discrimination, the income of a class is increasing,” Dr. Saleh Uddin Ahmed said.
He said that corruption and money laundering have been increased in the country.
They are also depositing money in the bank in different ways despite the crisis and the account has increased by crores of taka, the noted economist observed.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there were only 5 millionaire depositors immediate after the independence of the country in 1972, which increased to 47 in 1975.
In 1980, the number of millionaire account holders was 98, 943 in 1990, 2,594 in 1996, 5,162 in 2001, 8, 887 in 2006 and 19,163 in 2008.
At the end of December 2020, it stood to 93,890 and the number of millionaire account holders increased to 1,01,976 in December 2021.
