Trust Bank CEO attends National Seminar

Posted by BankInfo on Wed, Jun 11 2014 11:41 am

Ishtiaque Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of Trust Bank Limited attending National Seminar on “International Financial Regulations: Necessity and Implications for Banks in Bangladesh” recently at BIBM Auditorium, Dhaka as an expert speaker opinion organized by BIBM, informed by the authority.
Md. Abul Quasem, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank was Chief Guest; Ex Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Khondokar Ibrahim Khalid, DG of BIBM and others distinguished guests were also present.
Trust Bank vision is build a long-term sustainable financial institution through financial inclusion and deliver optimum value to all stakeholders with the highest level of compliance. And it’s Mission is Long Term Sustainable Growth- diversified business with robust risk management.
Financial Inclusion- bring unbanked population into banking network through low cost and technology based service delivery Accountable to all stakeholders- customers, shareholders, employees & regulators. Highest level of compliance and transparency at all levels of operation.

News:Bangladesh Today/11-June-2014

National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd. has approved 11% dividend

Posted by BankInfo on Wed, Jun 11 2014 11:34 am

 

Dhaka- National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd. has approved 11% dividend (6% cash & 5% Bonus Share) for the year 2013. The approval was given in the Bank’s 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Police Convention Hall, Dhaka on Monday (02/06/2014), reports by the authority.
Chairman of NCC Bank Ltd. Md. Nurun Newaz Salim presided over the meeting while Vice Chairman A. S. M. Mainuddin Monem, Directors, Sponsors, a large number of Shareholders and Managing Director Golam Hafiz Ahmed were also present. The Directors Report and Audited Accounts of the bank for the year ended on December 31, 2013 was placed before the Shareholders at the AGM and was duly approved by them.
Chairman Md. Nurun Newaz Salim in his speech expressed that Deposits, Advances, Profits, Foreign Exchange Business, Recovery of bad loans & Advances & other fields of activities have recorded significant improvement of NCC Bank during the year 2013. He informed the meeting that the Bank is marching ahead with modern technologies and steadily progressing with efficient human resources to safeguard the Bank’s Asset qualities, the bank is taking all required steps.
A large number of Shareholders spoke on the occassion and made various suggestions for continued growth and better performance of the Bank in the coming years.

News:Bangladesh Today/11-June-2014

NBL held Managers Conference of Dhaka City Branches

Posted by BankInfo on Wed, Jun 11 2014 11:21 am

Dhaka- A branch manager’s conference has been held with the participation of 35 branch managers of Dhaka city and adjoining areas of National Bank Limited along with the concerned Divisional Heads at the training institute of the bank recently, reports in a press release. A K M Shafiqur Rahman, Managing Director & CEO of the bank was the chief guest. Md. Badiul Alam, Additional Managing Director, Abdul Hamid Mia and Syed Mohammad Bariqullah, Deputy Managing Directors and Forhad Ahmed Chowdhury, Sr. Executive Vice President were also present.
The Managing Director and the senior executives directed the branch managers towards expansion of business and to strengthen the loan recovery measures with a view to maximize the profit in the coming months.

News:Bangladesh Today/11-June-2014

Partisan directors push SCBs to the brink

Posted by BankInfo on Tue, Jun 10 2014 12:32 pm

The government could not yet recover a single penny from the Hallmark Group since the massive irregularities by the bank management and dishonest officials of Hallmark Group were detected in 2012. Even the government has not dissolved the board of directors led by chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu in BASIC despite recommendations by the Bangladesh Bank almost a month ago. BB officials in a report to the ministry of finance noted that the BASIC board of directors could not avoid their responsibility for the bank’s huge defaulted loans. Bank and financial institutions division officials said they had initiated moves to dissolve the BASIC board of directors on a number of occasions in the past after the detection of the embezzlement of Tk 3,500 crore from the bank since November 2012. But the ministry of finance could not take action due to political pressure, they said. Badiul Alam, secretary of Shujan, a civil society group campaigning for good governance, said scandals in the financial sector during the present government’s rule were ‘common’ due to lack of good governance. He said the collapse of share market in 2010-11 had left many small investors flat broke. But the government failed to bring the culprits to book, he said, adding that the Awami League-led government had failed to punish anybody in 1996 when the country’s share market collapsed for the first time in its history. Bangladesh Institution of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakth, also director of the Sonali Bank board, said there was no doubt that the state-owned banks were in crisis. He noted that a quick realisation of the situation by the government could have benefitted the state-owned banks. He said monitoring by the government agencies should be bolstered to curb misappropriation of fund from the SCBs. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/19518/partisan-directors-push-scbs-to-the-brink/#sthash.CgaCh9dd.dpuf But critics said the ‘belated realisation’ by the octogenarian finance minister on the ‘politically-appointed’ directors would not bring much benefit to the ailing state-owned banks plagued by loan scandals. Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited is the latest bank to have been mired in loan scams due to an errant board of directors after a little-known Hallmark Group swindled Tk 3,500 crore out of Sonali Bank Limited in 2012. Muhith came up with the view during the dividend handover ceremony by the Bangladesh–United Arab Emirates Investment Company at the secretariat on Monday afternoon. ‘There are always some persons appointed by the government on political consideration in the banks,’ he told reporters. He went on to say that directors of state-owned banks were found involved in loan scandals and misappropriation of funds. He also blamed Bangladesh Bank for poor monitoring of the banks. Muhith said the government was planning to prepare criteria for appointment of directors to avert such unwarranted situation in future. Subhash Chandra Singha Roy, a former director to the Sonali board that sanctioned a controversial loan to Hallmark Group, refused comments on Muhith’s statement. He told New Age on Monday he would not comment on the issue since he wanted to forget the time when he had served as a director to the Sonali board. Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that Muhith’s findings would be meaningful only when the errant directors would be brought to book. Otherwise such things would continue to happen and the financial sector would bear the brunt, he noted. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/19518/partisan-directors-push-scbs-to-the-brink/#sthash.CgaCh9dd.dpufFinance minister AMA Muhith has blamed the directors appointed by the present government on political consideration for a series of loan scams in the state-owned banks over the last several years. But critics said the ‘belated realisation’ by the octogenarian finance minister on the ‘politically-appointed’ directors would not bring much benefit to the ailing state-owned banks plagued by loan scandals. Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited is the latest bank to have been mired in loan scams due to an errant board of directors after a little-known Hallmark Group swindled Tk 3,500 crore out of Sonali Bank Limited in 2012. Muhith came up with the view during the dividend handover ceremony by the Bangladesh–United Arab Emirates Investment Company at the secretariat on Monday afternoon. ‘There are always some persons appointed by the government on political consideration in the banks,’ he told reporters. He went on to say that directors of state-owned banks were found involved in loan scandals and misappropriation of funds. He also blamed Bangladesh Bank for poor monitoring of the banks. Muhith said the government was planning to prepare criteria for appointment of directors to avert such unwarranted situation in future. Subhash Chandra Singha Roy, a former director to the Sonali board that sanctioned a controversial loan to Hallmark Group, refused comments on Muhith’s statement. He told New Age on Monday he would not comment on the issue since he wanted to forget the time when he had served as a director to the Sonali board. Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that Muhith’s findings would be meaningful only when the errant directors would be brought to book. Otherwise such things would continue to happen and the financial sector would bear the brunt, he noted. 

The government could not yet recover a single penny from the Hallmark Group since the massive irregularities by the bank management and dishonest officials of Hallmark Group were detected in 2012. Even the government has not dissolved the board of directors led by chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu in BASIC despite recommendations by the Bangladesh Bank almost a month ago. BB officials in a report to the ministry of finance noted that the BASIC board of directors could not avoid their responsibility for the bank’s huge defaulted loans. Bank and financial institutions division officials said they had initiated moves to dissolve the BASIC board of directors on a number of occasions in the past after the detection of the embezzlement of Tk 3,500 crore from the bank since November 2012. But the ministry of finance could not take action due to political pressure, they said. Badiul Alam, secretary of Shujan, a civil society group campaigning for good governance, said scandals in the financial sector during the present government’s rule were ‘common’ due to lack of good governance. He said the collapse of share market in 2010-11 had left many small investors flat broke. But the government failed to bring the culprits to book, he said, adding that the Awami League-led government had failed to punish anybody in 1996 when the country’s share market collapsed for the first time in its history. Bangladesh Institution of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakth, also director of the Sonali Bank board, said there was no doubt that the state-owned banks were in crisis. He noted that a quick realisation of the situation by the government could have benefitted the state-owned banks. He said monitoring by the government agencies should be bolstered to curb misappropriation of fund from the SCBs. 

News:New Age/10-June-2014

IBFB: Proposed bank borrowing may worsen private investment

Posted by BankInfo on Tue, Jun 10 2014 12:21 pm

In the proposed budget, the government has set a target to borrow Tk31,000 crore from banking system in the next fiscal year

International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) feared that the proposed bank borrowing in the budget might bring crowding out effect in the private investment that still reels particularly from political unrest and higher interest rate.

In the proposed budget, the government has set a target to borrow Tk31,000 crore from banking system in the next fiscal year, which is more than 4% from the revised budget of the outgoing fiscal year.

“Public borrowing from banks might increase further if the government fails to get the projected foreign loans. In that case, the situation might turn from bad to worse,” IBFB president Hafizur Rahman Khan said in a statement giving reaction to the proposed budget.

The government expected to receive foreign aid of Tk24,275 crore in the FY2014-15. About the budget size, Khan, however,  said, “It is a big budget but time-befitting.”

IBFB identified that good governance and political stability is the key to implement the proposed budget.

“The government needs to increase administrative efficiency, to ensure good governance and political stability for implementation of the proposed budget,” said IBFB chief.

He added it is important to implement the such big budget right at this moment for taking its fruits to the door of the people. IBFB appreciated the budget for taking measures to protect local industry, including pharmaceuticals, LPG cylinder, iron and ispat, shipbuilding, paper, ceramic, rubber, electrical and plastic.

“Import duty reduction on raw materials and duty hike on finished products will help expand local industry,” Khan said. On the other hand, he said, withdrawal of tax at source for letters of credit opening will bring dynamism to the country’s dull business situation.

Terming revenue income target of Tk1,49,720 crore as “a bold step,” IBFB said it is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administrative level to achieve the revenue target.

The Forum demanded raising of tax-free income limit to Tk2.5 lakh and Tk3 lakh for women be reconsidered taking colossal damage of businesses caused by the political unrest and many other reasons into account. 

News:Dhaka Tribune/10-June-2014

 

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