Sonali Bank’s lawyers are split about the proposed rescheduling of Hall-Mark Group’s loans worth Tk 2,600 crore loans, taken out through fraudulence.

“Some of the lawyers are of the opinion that the amount was not a loan but embezzlement, so the question of rescheduling does not even arise. Rather, the steps taken in case of fraud need to be enforced,”

said a high official of Sonali Bank upon condition of anonymity.

The other lawyers, however, are in favour of rescheduling, as it will ensure the recovery of at least a portion of the amount.

They suggested that the bank gets hold of proper documentation and collateral and reschedules the loan against them.

“They are of the opinion that those funds are gone forever, otherwise,” the official added.

Of the outstanding amount, around Tk 200 crore was taken out as loan and the rest through various irregularities.

The official cited the withdrawal of Tk 1,000 crore against a mere “slip” as an example of the irregularities that took place.

The official said the proposal together with the legal team’s differing views would be placed before the board today. “What the board decides, we will put into action.”

Meanwhile, Sonali Bank, upon finance ministry’s instruction in March, has evaluated the assets of Hall-Mark Group and found their value to be in the region of Tk 700 crore.

The ministry also asked the bank to come up with ways to resume Hall-Mark Group’s operations, such that its 40,000 workers can continue to be gainfully employed. The move, however, faced staunch criticism from different quarters.

Private banks’ capital increased by 7.75 percent in the first half this year though their default loans marked a rise during the period due to the recent political unrest and low investments.

Their capital stood at Tk 42,592 crore as on June 30, a rise by Tk 3,065 crore from December 31 last year, according to central bank statistics.

Among 36 private banks, capital of all but three went up. The surplus capital of the banks was Tk 2,751 crore on June 30.

However, their default loans rose by more than Tk 6,000 crore during the January-June period.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Pubali Bank Ltd, said though default loans increased in these banks, there was no provision shortfall against their bad loans. As a result,

the banks were able to increase their capital, he added.

After 2015, the banks will have to maintain higher capital as per the Basel-III requirements, Chowdhury said.
At present,

they maintain capital at 10 percent of their risk weighted asset in line with Basel-II requirements. Basel-III regime will be the latest version of risk-based capital standards set for banks worldwide.

Keeping the future requirements in mind, the banks are increasing capital every year so that they do not face pressure after 2015, the Pubali Bank chief executive said.

As the banks had to raise capital, most of them gave stock dividends instead of cash dividends in 2012, he said.
Chowdhury also blamed the rise in default loans in the private banks on political unrest, low investment in the run-up to the national elections and the central bank’s new loan provisioning rules.

However, he said, compared to the public banks, the financial base of the private banks is stronger as they are operating under strict monitoring by the central bank.

The state banks’ capital did not increase rather the amounts fell short of the requirements, according to central bank statistics.
On June 30, the capital shortfall of the state banks was Tk 9,062 crore and that of specialised banks Tk 5,650 crore.

Among the private banks, ICB Islamic Bank had the highest amount of capital shortfall — Tk 1,302 crore, followed by Bangladesh Commerce Bank’s Tk 250 crore, and Premier Bank’s Tk 183 crore.

Premier had a capital surplus of Tk 47 crore in December last year, but the other two had a deficit in the month.

Alhajj Abdul Malek Mollah, Vice Chairman of the EC of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd, presides over the EC meeting at the bank’s board room in Dhaka on Wednesday. 

The 404th meeting of the Executive Committee of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited was held at the bank’s board room in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Alhajj Abdul Malek Mollah, Vice Chairman of the EC of the bank, presided over the meeting, said a press release.

Nazmul Ahsan Khaled, Hafez Md Enayet Ullah, Ahmedul Hoque, Abu Naser Mohammad Yeahea and Engineer KH Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Members of the committee, Md Habibur Rahman, Managing Director, and Md Mofazzal Hossain, Company Secretary and Deputy Managing Director of the bank, attended the meeting.

The meeting was reviewed overall business performance of the bank. 

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of Pubali Bank Limited, speaks at a workshop on "Money Laundering Prevention & Internal Control & Compliance" organised by the bank in Dhaka recently.

A day-long workshop on "Money Laundering Prevention and Internal Control and Compliance" organised by Pubali Bank in Dhaka recently.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of the bank was present as chief guest, said a press release.

Md Shirajul Islam, General Manager of Janata Bank Limited, receives an award at a hotel in Singapore recently.

Janata Bank Limited was awarded with the Wholesale Banking Award-2013 and the Retail Banking Award-2013 by the Asian Banking and Finance Magazine of Singapore.

Md Shirajul Islam, General Manager of Janata Bank Limited, received the awards at a function at hotel in Singapore recently, said a press release.