Dhaka, Oct. 28 -- One of the country's most renowned economists, Wahiduddin Mahmud, who was also an adviser to the interim government, has said that Bangladesh's banking sector was initially crippled by a culture of default loans, which later evolved into a destructive "bank looting culture" following 2010, ultimately plunging the financial sector into its current crisis.

He made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the two-day annual banking conference organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) at its Mirpur campus in the capital.

Reflecting on his past experiences with banking sector reforms, Mahmud noted that restoring discipline previously required stringent regu...