Meghna Bank calls auction for PFI Securities head office to recover Tk49cr defaulted loans

Meghna Bank PLC has moved to auction a mortgaged property owned by PFI Securities Limited to recover defaulted loans totaling Tk49.18 crore.

In a public notice, the bank said the auction will involve a commercial property in Dilkusha, a prime business area in Dhaka under Motijheel police station. 

The asset includes around 6.60 decimals of land and a nine-storey building, which also houses the PFI Securities office.

Interested buyers have been invited to submit bids by 15 April, along with required documents and earnest money deposits. The highest bidder, subject to meeting all conditions, will secure the purchase.

The bank said the auction is part of its effort to recover non-performing loans, highlighting growing pressure on financial institutions to maintain asset quality. Auctions of mortgaged assets have become a common mechanism amid rising defaults in the sector.

Attempts to reach Kazi Fariduddin Ahmed, managing director of PFI Securities, for comment were unsuccessful.

Established in 1997, PFI Securities operates as a stock dealer and brokerage firm, and is a member of both the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges. 

It is also an associate of Prime Finance and Investment, which holds a 46.15% stake in the company.

The firm has faced regulatory issues in recent years. In November 2023, the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited temporarily suspended its depository participant operations over unpaid fees, though the matter was resolved shortly after. In 2018, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange

Commission fined the company Tk25 lakh over irregularities related to consolidated customer accounts and stock market investments.