BASIC Bank has progressively increased its single borrower exposure limit since 2009, which is a gross violation of banking rules, the finance ministry's latest report said.

Bangladesh Bank rules say a bank cannot grant more than 15 percent of its capital to a single borrower, but in 2012 and 2013 the state-run specialised bank's single borrower exposure stood at 22.86 percent and 21.07 percent respectively.

In 2009, its single borrower exposure stood at 15.58 percent, 10.67 percent in 2010 and 15.49 percent in 2011, said the report that looked in-depth at the bank's financial indicators over the past five years.

It found that all of BASIC's financial indicators deteriorated in the last five years due to irregularities.

The report, which was conducted at BB's behest, was handed to the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry on Wednesday, and a discussion chaired by the committee's chief Abdur Razzak focused on it. Further discussions will be held on the matter at the committee's next meeting, a finance ministry official said.

The bank's return to equity was 18.79 percent in 2009, which dropped to -1.71 percent in June 2014, according to the report.

At the end of June, BASIC's loss against per share stood at Tk 1.77, but in 2009 it was Tk 18.79 in the earning. 

In 2013, the bank suffered a loss of Tk 53 crore for the first time in its history, and in June this year the loss stood at Tk 5.22 crore, the report.

At the end of June, 34 of its 68 branches were loss-making, whereas only three branches suffered losses in 2009.

The report said the amount of default loans at the end of June was 40.38 percent of the total outstanding loans. It was only 4.83 percent in 2009.

At the end of June, it had a capital deficit of Tk 1,675 crore, whereas in 2009 it was Tk 111 crore in the surplus.

 Standard Chartered Bank launched its global FX e-Commerce System S2BX in Bangladesh.

National Credit and Commerce Bank (NCC Bank) was the first bank who availed of this platform at a recent programme at National Credit and Commerce Bank’s Head Office.

The platform that has been introduced by Standard Chartered Bank is applicable only for partner authorised dealer banks.

Golam Hafiz Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO, and Ashim Kumar Saha, Executive Vice President, NCC Bank, Alamgir Morshed, Managing Director and Head of Financial Markets, Standard Chartered, Kazi Ziaul Islam, Director and Head of Banks, Financial Institutions, M Abid Hassan, Director, Financial Markets Sales, Standard Chartered and other senior officials from both the organisations were present on the occasion.

Mangal Chandra Falia, Principal Officer, NCC Bank, Akhtar Hamid Khan, Deputy Managing Director, Junaid Mahtab, Associate Director, Financial Institutions, Kazi Ziaul Islam, Director and Head of Banks, Financial Institutions, Alamgir Morshed, Managing Director and Head of Financial Markets, Standard Chartered Bank, were present at the launching of Standard Chartered’s global FX E-Commerce System S2BX.

News:Daily Sun/7-Age-2014

 The 24th foundation course for the newly-recruited Trainee Assistant Officers (TAO) of First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL) has begun at the bank’s Training Institute at Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka recently.

A. A. M. Zakaria, Managing Director of the bank inaugurated the course, said a press release.

In his speech, Managing Director urged the bank officials for rendering their services with sincerity to build the bank as a generous and modern Islamic bank and advised all to remain honest and sincere in their career.

Yusuf Haroon Abedi, Principal of the Training Institute was also present on the occasion.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Wednesday revoked the Prime Bank’s mobile banking permission on ground of gross irregularities by the bank in mobile banking operations.

Conveying the decision, the central bank on Wednesday sent a letter to the Prime Bank authorities, BB Executive Director Dasgupta Ashim Kumar told BSS.

He said BB took the decision after the Prime Bank failed to give satisfactory reply to the querries of the central bank regarding a major misconduct by the mobile banking partner of this private bank.

He said BB in the letter told the authorities of Prime Bank that the misconduct was a major violation of the mobile banking guideline, issued by the central bank in 2009.

On receiving complaints, a BB investigation found that SMG Infocom Limited, the operating partner of the Prime Bank for mobile banking intentionally shut its operation after receiving huge cash by appointing few hundred agents for doing mobile banking services of the Prime Bank.

The central bank also found that the Prime Bank signed agreement with another operational partner Unitrend Network for running its mobile banking service without taking any action against SMG Infocom for its fraudulent activities.

Currently, 20 banks are providing mobile banking services to hundreds of clients across the country, particularly to the people in rural area, where access to traditional banking services is limited.

The central bank issued a guideline for mobile banking in 2009 and subsequently allowed 28 banks to do mobile banking. Formal mobile banking, however, began in 2011 with Brac Bank being the leader with its brand bKash.

News:Daily Sun/7-Agc-2014

The government and Mutual Trust Bank have agreed in principle to provide loan for purchasing laptop to the freelancers who are being developed under ‘Learning and Earning Programme’ (LEP).

The decision was taken at a meeting between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Secretary Md Nazrul Islam Khan and Managing Director and CEO of Trust Bank Istiaque Ahmed Chowdhury held at the ICT division on Wednesday.

Both ICT Division and Mutual Trust Bank will sit again within a week to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard, official sources said.

They said the ICT Division has agreed to become a guarantor for such loans. “We are pursuing the banks to provide loan for buying laptop since launching of the Learning and Earning Programme in early 2012 and the Trust Bank is the first to come up with a proposal to provide such loan for the already-developed-freelancers,” Khan said.

He said ICT Division has developed around 20,000 freelancers so far under its ongoing Learning and Earning Programme out of the 70,000 targeted by this year. But, many of them have no ability to buy a laptop required for outsourcing work and building career as IT professionals, Khan added.

He said ICT Division and Trust Bank have initially agreed in principle to provide loan to these freelancers to build their career as IT professionals and create self employment.

Additional Secretary of ICT Division and Managing Director of High-Tech Park Authority Hosne Ara Begum, Joint Secretary (planning and development) Shyama Prasad Bepari and Executive Vice President of Trust Bank S M Akram Sayeed were present.