applications for setting up 32 new banks under the changed criteria announced in late September this year. The BB received most of the applications yesterday, the last day for submitting applications, a BB official said.

“We will open these applications today (Thursday) when the names of the proposed banks will be available,” General Manger of Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the central bank KM Abdul Wadud told BSS.

The central bank started receiving the applications from October 1 after publishing guideline to establish new banks imposing a restriction to keep the number of directors in their board within 13.

Under the guidelines, the paid-up capital of a new commercial bank has been fixed at Taka 400 crore as required under Bank Company Act 1991.

The country’s financial sector now consists of 47 banks and over 100 financial institutions. BRAC Bank was the last one in the past decade to start operations in Bangladesh in 2001.

Source: The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 1st  Dec 2011