The central bank and the Banking Division of the finance ministry yesterday opposed the idea of setting up the proposed Palli Sanchay Bank; they instead suggested establishing a microcredit financial institution.

An inter-ministerial meeting made the recommendation to the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, who had sent the proposal to establish the specialised bank for the rural poor along the lines of Grameen Bank.
The Cooperatives Division had also prepared a draft Palli Sanchay Bank Act 2013.

At yesterday’s meeting, officials of both the central bank and the Banking Division said it is not possible to formulate a law in the present tenure of the current government due to a time constraint.

However, the Cooperatives Division was told that they can set up a financial institution under the Microcredit Regulatory Authority, said officials who were present at the meeting.

The meeting was also told that already there exist some banks of the same kind such as Ansar VDP Bank, Probashi Kalyan Bank, and Karmasangsthan Bank, but they have failed to serve the purposes.

“The proposed bank will remain out of the control of Bangladesh Bank but will perform several banking activities that may create indiscipline in the financial sector,” the BB had earlier written to the Banking Division.
The proposed bank will emerge from the government’s “One House, One Farm” project, just like Grameen Bank was born in 1983.
As per the draft law, the specialised bank will enjoy exemption from value-added and income taxes, like Grameen Bank.
The bank will not be governed under the Banking Companies Act, meaning it would remain mostly out of bounds of the central bank. However, Palli Sanchay Bank’s managing director would be appointed by its board of directors, with permission from the BB.

The bank’s paid-up capital will be Tk 600 crore, 80 percent of which will be provided by the government through its “One House, One Farm” project.

The government will hold 50 percent of the bank’s ownership and the rest would go to the member cooperative societies of the project. However, the government will not take any dividends against its shares.
The activities of the specialised bank, in many aspects, would also resemble those of Grameen Bank. Like Grameen, it will collect deposits and lend to its members.

But Palli Sanchay Bank will conduct some general banking activities, including various types of foreign exchange related transactions, opening letters of credit, online banking, and introducing debit and credit cards.
The bank’s board of directors will consist of 17 members and the secretary of the Cooperatives Division will be its ex-officio chairman.
Seven directors will be selected from the shareholders, with the government appointing one from the civil society. The other positions of the board will be filled up by government officials.

The “One House, One Farm” is a project under the Annual Development Programme, the first phase of which started in 1997. The second phase of the project started after the present government assumed power.

MA Sabur, Director of United Commercial Bank Limited, inaugurates the 134th branch of the bank at Kaligonj in Gazipur on Tuesday.

The 134th branch of United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) was opened at Kaligonj in Gazipur on Tuesday.

MA Sabur, Director, and Muhammed Ali, Managing Director of the bank were present at the opening ceremony as the chief and special guests respectively, said a press release.

Among others, Mirza Mahmud Rafiqur Rahman, Additional Managing Director and high officials of the bank were also present on the occasion.

Md Lutfar Rahman, Chairman, Executive Committee and Director of IFIC Bank, and Frank Brienz, President and Chief Sales Officer of Misys BankFusion, are seen at an agreement signing ceremony at Misys headquarters in London recently.

IFIC Bank, one of the fastest growing banks of the country, has selected Misys BankFusion as its core banking platform, to help the bank respond rapidly to changes in the market and to accelerate the bank’s already impressive recent growth.

An agreement to this effect was signed at Misys headquarters in London recently.

Md Lutfar Rahman, Chairman, Executive Committee and Director of the Board, and Md Shah Alam Sarwar, Managing Director and CEO of IFIC, Frank Brienz, President and Chief Sales Officer and Ms. Erin Smith, VP of Banking at Misys were present on the occasion, said a press release.

IFIC registered a growth of 26 percent in deposits in 2012 to Taka 92,433 million. The bank has 108 branches at home and abroad and its regional presence is rapidly increasing to add more branches like those in Pakistan and Nepal.

IFIC Bank has selected Misys BankFusion as its future technology platform for core banking system and BankFusion Teller to accelerate the bank’s network expansion and profitability. With BankFusion, the bank will be able to de-risk its business operations and further grow its corporate and retail banking operations.

Md Shah Alam Sarwar, MD and CEO of IFIC said, “IFIC’s growth strategy is based on the foundation of ensuring an excellent customer experience by providing quality and timely services.”

“The state-of-the-art technology in Misys BankFusion will allow us to launch new innovative products and services quickly and effectively to the market, keeping us at the forefront of retail banking”, he added.

“Misys BankFusion is the most technologically advanced and flexible core banking system available today and we are confident that it will support and accelerate IFIC’s growth.” IFIC Group recently acquired Nepal Bangladesh Bank, a Nepali commercial bank and plans to modernise its core banking infrastructure with Misys BankFusion. IFIC is among 70 banks who have adopted Misys BankFusion.

Erin Smith, VP of Banking at Misys said, “We are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that deliver real business value to our customers. As financial markets are becoming more competitive, financial institutions need to ring new solutions to the market at a faster pace to outperform competitors. In selecting Misys BankFusion, IFIC is embracing technology to create a platform for future growth and improve the efficiency of its operations. We are delighted to be working with this visionary leader.”

An agreement to this effect was signed at Misys headquarters in London recently.

Md Lutfar Rahman, Chairman, Executive Committee and Director of the Board, and Md Shah Alam Sarwar, Managing Director and CEO of IFIC, Frank Brienz, President and Chief Sales Officer and Ms. Erin Smith, VP of Banking at Misys were present on the occasion, said a press release.

IFIC registered a growth of 26 percent in deposits in 2012 to Taka 92,433 million. The bank has 108 branches at home and abroad and its regional presence is rapidly increasing to add more branches like those in Pakistan and Nepal.

IFIC Bank has selected Misys BankFusion as its future technology platform for core banking system and BankFusion Teller to accelerate the bank’s network expansion and profitability. With BankFusion, the bank will be able to de-risk its business operations and further grow its corporate and retail banking operations.

Md Shah Alam Sarwar, MD and CEO of IFIC said, “IFIC’s growth strategy is based on the foundation of ensuring an excellent customer experience by providing quality and timely services.”

“The state-of-the-art technology in Misys BankFusion will allow us to launch new innovative products and services quickly and effectively to the market, keeping us at the forefront of retail banking”, he added.

“Misys BankFusion is the most technologically advanced and flexible core banking system available today and we are confident that it will support and accelerate IFIC’s growth.”

IFIC Group recently acquired Nepal Bangladesh Bank, a Nepali commercial bank and plans to modernise its core banking infrastructure with Misys BankFusion. IFIC is among 70 banks who have adopted Misys BankFusion.

Erin Smith, VP of Banking at Misys said, “We are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that deliver real business value to our customers. As financial markets are becoming more competitive, financial

institutions need to ring new solutions to the market at a faster pace to outperform competitors. In selecting Misys BankFusion, IFIC is embracing technology to create a platform for future growth and improve the efficiency of its operations. We are delighted to be working with this visionary leader.”

DHAKA, SEPT 30:  Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman advised banks to open daycare centres so that their female employees can work without worrying about proper care of their children.

Inaugurating the expanded daycare centre at the central bank on Sunday, the governor said currently hundreds of women are working in the banking sector, but most of the banks do not have daycare centres though they have the capacity of establishing and running those.

  Dr Rahman said many women gave up their jobs only because they could not find any place like a daycare centre for looking after their children during duty hours. 

The central bank opened a daycare centre in 2006 with a capacity of taking care of 34 children. The expansion would accommodate an additional 30 children as well as offer more comfort and entertainment with new games, bigger television, and attractive wall-paintings besides various educational tools,

especially designed for children.

Abdus Samad, Chairman of Executive Committee of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited inaugurates 108th branch of the bank at Seven Star Shopping Complex at Lohagora in Chittagong on Monday.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited opened its 108th branch at Seven Star Shopping Complex at Lohagora in Chittagong on Monday.

Chairman of Executive Committee of the bank Abdus Samad inaugurated the branch as chief guest, said a press release.

Managing Director of the bank Md. Habibur Rahman delivered welcome speech where MA Motaleb, Chairman, Banoful Group, Abdur Sukur, Director, Banoful Group, Didarul Alam Chowdhury, Principal, Chirbari MA Motaleb College spoke on the occasion.