Bangladesh Bank (BB)is going to announce agriculture loan policy on July 23 with a target to disburse Taka 14,595 crore for fiscal year 2013-14.

BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman will announce the policy to give banks a guideline to reach farm credit to farmers properly and timely, a BB official told BSS.

Besides attaching priority to major crops, fisheries and livestock, the central bank is going to include some new items such as producing vermicompost fertilizer and orange farming in the loan policy.

The banks will be instructed to disburse farm loan through Taka-10 farmers’ account in order to increase the transparency in agriculture loan programmes.

Farmers will be able to seek BB’s help by dialing telephone No. 16236, if they face any problem about getting loans from banks

According to BB data, banks had collectively disbursed Taka 14, 667 crore, up by Taka 537 crore, against the target of Taka 14,130 crore in the just concluded financial year of 2012-13.

We’ve exceeded the disbursement target in the just concluded fiscal year . . . it is a record in history of disbursement of farm credit,” said the official. —BSS

Commerce Minister GM Quader speaks at a discussion on ''Role of Ramadan in Attaining Taq'wa'' as chief guest at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organised a discussion on ''Role of Ramadan in Attaining Taq'wa'' and held an iftar mahfil at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Commerce Minister GM Quader was present in the function as chief guest while Engr. Md. Eskander Ali Khan, Chairman, Executive Committee of the bank presided over the meeting, said a press release.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director of the bank also spoke. Dr. Md. Manzur-e-Elahi, Assistant Professor, National University and member,

Shari'ah Supervisory Committee of the bank presented keynote paper at the discussion while Mawlana Shah Wali Ullah, Khatib, Sobhanbag Jam'e mosque discussed on the topic.

State-run BASIC Bank on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Bank in line with central bank directions.

A senior BB official told New Age that BASIC Bank had sent a letter on the day with signing copy of the MoU.
He said thehad  BB issued an ultimatum to BASIC Bank to sign the deal within July 17 in a bid to improve the bank’s performance.

The BB sent a copy of the proposed MoU to BASIC Bank on June 18 asking it to sign the deal within July 7. BASIC Bank, however, failed to sign the MoU within the deadline.

The central bank has taken the initiative when BASIC Bank is facing huge criticism from different angels due to its financial scams that occurred with some of its branches, he said.

According to the MoU, the central bank attached

 
26 conditions with the deal including defaulted loan, required capital, single borrower exposure limit and loan sanctioning.
The bank’s defaulted loans will have to be reduced to 5 per cent of the total loan by December 2013 from the existing 17 per cent 

while its credit growth should not exceed 10 per cent annually and 2.5 per cent quarterly.
The BB in its MoU asked BASIC Bank to make reporting to the central bank about sanctioning of any loan of over Tk 10 crore.

The BB restricted the single borrower exposure limit for BASIC Bank to

 
15 per cent compared with that of 35 per cent for other banks.

As per requirement of the MoU, BASIC Bank will have to make up its capital shortfall by December this year. The capital shortfall of the bank stood at Tk 104 crore in December 2012.

BASIC Bank will face financial penalty if it fails to control irregularities in loan disbursement or does not follow the central bank’s conditions, the BB official said.

BB executive director Mohammad Naushad Ali Chowdhury confirmed New Age about signing of the MoU on the day.

The Bangladesh Bank has asked the scheduled banks to submit their insurance deposit-related information online and through manual system to the central bank in due time.

If the banks fail to submit such information in due time, they will face financial penalty.
The BB on Monday issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive

officers of the banks saying that from now on the banks would have to submit the insurance deposit-related information online and through the manual system.

The banks now submit the information only through manual system.
The banks will submit the information within the first month after every half year in the new format prepared by the BB, the circular said.

The central bank will impose financial penalty on the banks in accordance with the Bank Company Act-1991 if the banks fail to submit the information in due time.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday rejected the rights issue applications of BRAC Bank and IFIC Bank as the banks did not apply for the rights issue properly.

The commission took the decision at a meeting presided over by its chairman M Khairul Hossain, a BSEC news release said.

The BSEC release said the commission did not consider the rights issue applications of BRAC Bank and IFIC Bank as their issues were not fully underwritten which is a violation of section 3(d) of Securities and Exchange Commission Rules-2006.

The board of directors of BRAC Bank on April 16 recommended one rights share against existing two shares at an issue price of Tk 20 including a premium of Tk 10.

The board of directors of IFIC Bank in 2012 decided to offer three rights shares against existing four shares at an issue price of Tk 20 including a premium of Tk 10.

The BSEC on Tuesday also fined Jalalabad Securities Limited Tk 3 lakh as it issued loans against consolidated customer account violating securities rules.