The 31st Annual General Meeting of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited was held at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre on Saturday, May 31, 2014, says a Press Release.
Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman of the Bank presided over the meeting. Yousif Abdullah Al-Rajhi and Engr. Mustafa Anwar, Vice Chairmen, Engr. Md. Eskander Ali Khan, Md. Abul Hossain, Dr. Areef Suleman, Mohammad Abdullah Al Jalahma, Repr. Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation, Md. Abdus Salam FCA, FCS, Humayun Bokhteyar, ACPA, FCA, Prof. NRM Borhan Uddin, Ph.D, Barrister Mohammed Belayet Hossain, Directors, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director, Prof. Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique, Member Secretary, Shariah Supervisory Committee along with shareholders and high executives of the Bank were present on the occasion. The Bank approved 18% dividend comprising 10% stock and 8% cash for the Shareholders for the year 2013. The meeting also approved balance sheet upto 31st December 2013, Profit and Loss Account and Reports of the Directors and Auditors. Four directors were elected in the meeting.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman inaugurates the banking service for the street children, which will allow them to open a bank account with Tk 10, at a ceremony in city’s Bangla Academy on Saturday. 

Bangladesh Bank has launched banking service for the street children, which will allow them to open a bank account with Tk 10 only.
All the government and private banks in the country will operate the account which would help the children to develop their savings habits and eventually help them step forward towards better future.
BB governor Atiur Rahman on Saturday inaugurated the service at a ceremony in city’s Bangla Academy.
The central bank has taken the initiative of institutional financial support for the street children after introducing various types of banking services for farmers, sharecroppers and some other underprivileged people.
Speaking on the occasion, Atiur Rahman said some 8-10 lakh distressed street children had been engaging with hazardous works, of which most of them were involving with drug addiction and criminal offences.
‘The initiative jointly taken by the banking sector and non-government organisation would help to prevent the street children from derailment through developing financial position,’ he hoped.
The central bank governor expressed his confidence that the initiative not only acquaint the street children with the banking system, but also habituate them for savings.
He advised the banks to innovate necessary products so that the children could collect loan after completing 18 years to be self-reliance.
Initially, 300 street children are getting opportunity to open bank account in the first phase.
On March 10 this year, the central bank in a circular asked all banks to allow street children and child workers open bank accounts by taking a deposit of Tk 10 only, which the banks are now offering to the farmers and others who cannot afford normal banking services.
Following the directive, 10 banks so far teamed up with non-government organisation Save the Children for offering the service to the destitute children who have no option that live and work in railway stations, bus and ferry terminals, slums and footpaths.
The 10 banks are Rupali Bank, Agrani Bank, Pubali Bank, One Bank, National Bank, Southeast Bank, Bank Asia, City Bank, NCC Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank. The other banks will follow the suit in phases.
As per the BB guideline all the accounts should be operated by the non- government organisations, nominated by the central bank.
The NGOs concerned will nominate at least two of their staff for doing these jobs. Among the two employees, one should be from the accounting department and the other from the field level.
However, the NGOs should take the overall responsibility of operating the accounts until the street children and the child workers reach the age of 18 years. The NGOs and the banks concerned will sign agreements to operate the accounts.
There will be no fees for these accounts, but the account holders will not get online transaction facility, meaning no debit or credit cards would be issued by the banks. Withdrawal should be done by using cheques or other physical debit instructions.

International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman is seen along with others at the inauguration of ICC Knowledge Centre Workshop on Incoterms 2010 & Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees at a hotel in Dhaka on Saturday.

nternational Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman on Saturday said that the country would soon turn into a $100-billion ‘trade economy’.
‘Bangladesh economy is growing up despite the unstable situation in 2013. It is expected that Bangladesh is going to be a $100-billion trade economy not too distant future,’ he said while inaugurating ICC Knowledge Centre Workshop on Incoterms 2010 & Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees at a hotel in Dhaka, said a news release.
‘I must congratulate our private sector, in particular the export industries, namely readymade garments, leather, pharmaceuticals and also the shipbuilding industry. I must also thank our hard working migrant workers whose regular remittances of around $14 billion have helped in meeting our much needed foreign exchange,’ Mahbubur added.
‘We now have foreign exchange reserve of over $20bliion, for which Bangladesh Bank definitely deserves credit. We now have to create congenial environment to attract both domestic and foreign direct investment for setting up basic industries, without which Bangladesh cannot sustain its growth momentum and achieve our aim of becoming middle country within next few years,’ he said.
ICC Knowledge Centre is a joint initiative of International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh and HSBC Bangladesh. It is a first ever unique learning, networking and knowledge facilitation platform for the professionals of the local trade community, engaged with international trade in Bangladesh.
ICC Knowledge Centre executive committee chairman Md Fazlul Hoque said the centre would play vital role to trade specialists to enrich their knowledge.
ICC Banking Commission member and secretary to the Banking Commission of ICC Czech Republic Pavel Andrle conducted the workshop.
ICCB secretary general Ataur Rahman, director of Trade and Investment British High Commission, Dhaka Justin Davies, and country head of GTRF (Global Trade & Receivable Finance) HSBC Bangladesh Syed Javed Noor also present the occasion.

Atiur Rahman has made it possible by strengthening financial inclusion programmes in the country

Troubled BASIC Bank has doubled its branches to 68 in the last five years, but 70 percent of its business activities are controlled by graft-ridden four branches.
Of the four branches, loan activities have recently been suspended in three --Dilkusha, Gulshan and Shantinagar -- by the central bank on charges of loan frauds. The fourth one is the bank's main branch.
The bank had only 32 branches in September 2009 when the incumbent board of directors was appointed by the government. The number of employees has more than trebled ever since.
Despite rapid expansion, the bank has failed to diversify its business and attract small and medium enterprises to its services.
According to BASIC Bank data, its 68 branches lent Tk 11,040 crore in 2013. Of the amount, nearly Tk 7,791 crore was given by the four branches.
Bangladesh Bank investigations detected massive financial irregularities involving around Tk 4,500 crore of loans in the three branches between 2009 and 2013.
The Gulshan branch alone lent more than Tk 3,111 crore last year against its deposit of Tk 695 crore only. Loan-deposit ratio (LDR) reached a whooping 427 percent, meaning it has lent Tk 427 against a deposit of Tk 100.
The permissible ceiling of LDR is 85 percent.
The Shantinagar branch loaned more than Tk 2,563 crore against a deposit of Tk 1,177 crore, pushing the LDR to nearly 204 percent. The Dilkusha branch gave Tk 1,224 crore against Tk 979 crore in deposits, with the LDR at more than 118 percent.
“A huge amount of money was embezzled in the name of giving loans. The bank's board did not try to tap business potential in other areas,” said a deputy managing director of the bank, requesting not to be named.
The BB inspection found that the Gulshan, Shantinagar and Dilkusha branches gave loans to nonexistent companies and approved loans instantly after the clients had opened accounts.
Moreover, the bank's board sanctioned loans even before the respective branch sent loan proposal to its headquarters.
The board granted loans without assessing borrowers' creditworthiness, documents and mortgages.
The BB said it would not be possible to recover many of these loans.
The main branch of the bank lent around Tk 891 crore against deposits of around Tk 926 crore last year. The LDR at the branch was 91 percent.
In violation of banking rules, the bank also showed interests as income against many loans that had not been paid. Also, borrowers diverted their funds at will, but the board and management did not take any action.
Officials said the branches having huge business potential include Khatunganj, Agrabad, Khulna, Rajshahi, Narsingdi, Babubazar, Chittagong EPZ, Dhanmondi, Rangpur, Gazipur, Kushtia, Savar, Keraniganj and Zindabazar.
The bank's latest data as on April 30 this year showed that LDR remained less than 50 percent in Khatunganj branch and 42 percent in Khulna branch, meaning these branches have failed to invest money against deposits.
Agrabad, Rajshahi, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Savar and Keraniganj branches were also hugely under-utilised.
The central bank last week advised the government to take action against the board of the state-run bank, as the governing body was found guilty of committing large-scale irregularities in approving loans, and in recruitment and promotion.
BB Governor Atiur Rahman sent a letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith to take actions against the board after all efforts to discipline the once good-performing bank went in vain.