Mohammed Solaiman has unanimously been re-elected the chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank Securities recently, said a press release.

While Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Halim were unanimously re-elected vice-chairmen.
Solaiman, who holds a masters degree in public administration from Chittagong University,

is a sponsor director and former chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank and a founder director of Central Hospital.

Farooq is the managing director of Famous Group of Companies and a sponsor director of Shahjalal Islami Bank while Halim is a sponsor shareholder of Shahjalal Islami Bank and the chairman of Halim Group.

Corruption is endemic in the Probashi Kallyan Bank while nepotism is an old story in the specialised government bank set up to deliver services to the migrants, officials said, seeking anonymity.

Since its establishment on April 20, 2011 with Tk950m from the Wage Earners’ Welfare Fund and only Tk50m from the government exchequer, the bank failed to run commercially.

A section of the Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB) officials expressed concern that the bank became unsuccessful not only to lend money to the overseas job seekers but also to bring remittance home from migrants.

From April 2011 to August 2013, the bank provided loans for only 2,500 people to go abroad while less than 100 returnees received rehabilitation loans.

During the same period, around 1.3 million people migrated to different countries, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. 

The officials said the bank provides a loan of only Tk84,000 to a job seeker while a job seeker has to spend Tk2,00,000 to Tk3,00,000 to go abroad.

Lack of skilled manpower with banking experience has been attributed to the failure of the bank which came into being for relieving overseas job seekers of sale of their property or borrowing to repay the moneylenders debt.

Instead of enhancing its capacity, the PKB authorities without any advertisement have recruited less qualified persons allegedly in exchange of bribe.

Relatives close to high officials and board members have also been given appointments.

Sources at the bank said a total of 121 people have been recruited while more than 100, mostly students, are now working at the bank as interns.

Of the 121 employees, many possess 3rd classes in their academic career.

As per the rule, a job seeker with 3rd class cannot apply for the post of an officer in the bank, but the authorities hired many with 3rd class degrees in their academic standing violating the rules and regulations. 

If a new organisation has no service rule, it is to follow the service rules of a similar organisation.

Despite having one 3rd class, A PKB employee Syed Mehedi Hasan has been recruited, and he is now working in Barisal branch of the bank.

Another employee – Rangalal Bala – with a similar result is now working in the bank’s principal branch.

Atiqur Rahman also falls in the same category and works at the Barisal branch.

Seeking anonymity, a PKB employee said he got the job in exchange of a bribe.

The employee said he was supposed to pay Tk2,00,000 for getting the job in the post of a junior officer, but he paid only Tk35,000 as he was not given the post he wanted.   

The employee alleged that he was still being pressurized to pay the rest of the amount.

Another employee working in the bank’s Khulna branch said he got the job paying a bribe of Tk200,000.

He said he had not given the money, but his brother “managed” it.

About 100 people are working in the bank as interns. Of them, 45 are students who are working as junior executives.

Nusrat Jahan has passed merely HSC and is now working as junior executive while Mahfuzur Rahman, an HSC, is a junior executive officer.

Sources said PKB branches in Bogra, Sirajganj, Hathazari, Cox’s Bazar are being run mostly by interns having no minimum required experience.

Probashi Kallyan Bank opened its principal branch and Rangamati branch without the permission of Bangladesh Bank.

PKB Chairman and Expat Welfare Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan said: “I don’t know everything of what had happened.”

“I will take steps if rules are violated in the bank,” Zafar told the Dhaka Tribune on Friday.

But PKB Managing Director CM Koyes Sami defended the recruitment process of the bank.

“As a new bank we have to do many things at the outset, but next time the jobs seekers have to sit for recruitment tests,” he told the Dhaka Tribune Thursday.

“We cannot run the bank commercially as it requires Bangladesh Bank permission which we are trying for,” said Koyes Sami who was the chief executive of Oriental Bank that collapsed due to mounting bad debt.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith handing over scholarship awarding letters to one of the recipients as the chief guest in the city Saturday.

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) has awarded scholarship awarding letters to 4,057 more poor but meritorious students. 

With this the bank has cleared the seventh phase of its long-term project to provide financial assistance worth Tk 1.02 billion to 30,000 students by 2016, according to the officials. 

Finance Minister AMA Muhith handed over the scholarship awarding letters to the recipients as the chief guest at a ceremony in the city Saturday.

Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh Gerben de Jong was present at the function as the special guest, while Chairman of the executive committee of DBBL board of directors Sayem Ahmed presided over it.

Managing Director of the bank KS Tabrez, among others, was present at the function.

The students were selected from those who have passed secondary school certificate (SSC) or equivalent exams this year and are now studying at the higher secondary certificate (HSC) level at different educational institutions across the country.

Under the programme, each of the students will get Tk 27,500 yearly, and the renewal for the next academic year (2nd year) will depend on their first year's academic results, the bank officials added.

Lauding the DBBL's scholarship programme, the finance minister said, "It is a great initiative, which is equivalent to that of the state level."

He also appreciated the bank's continuous humanitarian and welfare activities and termed this scholarship programme a unique example of helping the meritorious and needy students.

Mr Muhith advised the scholarship awardees to utilise the fund and flourish their talent by properly educating themselves. The minister also expected that all the corporate bodies of the country would come forward with such programmes for the benefit of the society. 

Mr Gerben de Jong appreciated the Dutch-Bangla Bank Foundation for its generous initiative to build the future of the underprivileged students, facilitating the long-term development of the country's human resources and also helping the country to achieve the middle-income status in the next decade. 

The ambassador also congratulated the students, who got the DBBL's scholarship this year. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sayem Ahmed said the DBBL, as a responsible corporate body since its inception, has been playing a pioneering role in implementing social and philanthropic programmes to help the disadvantaged people of the society.

A number of sectors including education, healthcare and rehabilitation of distressed people are on the priority list of the bank for carrying out its social and philanthropic activities, he said. 

Ninety per cent of the total DBBL's scholarships go to the students, who came from the rural areas, and at least 50 per cent are female students, the chairman added.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, Chairman of NCCB Securities and Financial Services and Managing Director of NCC Bank Ltd, presides over a meeting at the company’s head office in Dhaka recently.

NCCB Securities and Financial Services Limited organised the 3rd annual general meeting (AGM) at the company’s head office in Dhaka recently.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, Chairman of NCCB Securities and Financial Services and Managing Director of NCC Bank, presided over the meeting, said a press release.

AK Md Siddique, Gazi Hasan Mahmud and Md Mizanur Rahman, Directors of NCCB Securities, Md Abdul Bari Sarker, CEO of the company, and AKM Nurul Islam, Company Secretary of NCC Bank, attended the meeting.

M Kamran Hamid, Deputy General Manager of BASIC Bank Limited, seen among other officials of the bank at a workshop on ‘General Banking’ at the bank’s training institute in Dhaka recently.

BASIC Bank Limited organised a workshop on “General Banking” for its assistant officers and officers at the bank’s training institute in Dhaka recently.

M Kamran Hamid, Deputy General Manger and Principal of the Training Institute was present as chief guest, said a press release on Saturday.

Asoke Bandhu Das, Vice Principal of the institute and other members of the faculty were present at the workshop.

Some 25 officers of BASIC Bank participated in the workshop.