Janata Bank has announced plans to auction the mortgaged assets of Simran Composite Ltd, a concern of apparel manufacturer AnonTex Group, to recover Tk 12.6 billion in defaulted loans.

The auction, scheduled for December 29, will be conducted under the Money Loans Court Act, marking the first time the heavily indebted group has faced such a lender action.

AnonTex Group, long known as one of Bangladesh’s largest loan defaulters, has its properties in Gazipur and Ashulia mortgaged with Janata Bank. The bank’s corporate branch at Janata Bhaban issued the auction notice, seeking to recover both the principal and accrued interest.

Janata Bank holds the highest bad loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector, with defaulted loans totaling Tk 60,489 crore as of September 2023. This represents 61% of its total disbursed loans and accounts for 21.22% of the country’s total non-performing loans (NPLs), which stood at Tk 2849.77 billion during the same period.

Large borrowers dominate Janata Bank’s defaulted loan portfolio, with Beximco Group owing Tk 19,507 crore, S Alam Group Tk 10,500 crore, and AnonTex Group Tk 77.08 billion.

A senior official from Janata Bank, speaking anonymously, disclosed that the bank’s management and board of directors are intensifying efforts to recover loans from major defaulters to address its financial crisis. The decision to auction mortgaged assets is a part of these recovery measures.