Parveen Haque Sikder, Director and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of National Bank Limited, inaugurates the 160th branch of the bank at Goshairhat in Shariatpur Thursday.

National Bank Limited opened the 160th branch at Goshairhat in Shariatpur Thursday.

Parveen Haque Sikder, Director and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest, said a press release.

Neaz Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO of the bank presided over the meeting.

AKM Shafiqur Rahman, Deputy Managing Director and Company Secretary delivered welcome speech while Momtazul Haque, Salahuddin Khan and TV personality Zillur Rahman were present as special guests.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/09-Nov-12

Azim Uddin Ahmed and Duluma Ahmed, directors of Southeast Bank Limited inaugurate a branch at Sir Iqbal Road in Khulna recently.

The 88th branch of Southeast Bank Limited was opened at Sir Iqbal Road in Khulna recently.

Azim Uddin Ahmed and Duluma Ahmed, Directors of the bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest and special guest respectively, said a press release.

Shahid Hossain, Additional Managing Director, Lt CDR (Retd) Wares-Ul-Matin, head of Logistics and General Services were present on the occasion.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/09-Nov-12

Syed Waseque Md Ali, Deputy Managing Director of First Security Islami Bank, inaugurates the Swarupkathi branch of the bank in Pirojpur Tuesday.

First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL) has launched the operation of its Swarupkathi branch in Pirojpur Tuesday.

Syed Waseque Md Ali, Deputy Managing Director of the bank inaugurated the branch, said a press release.

Aman Ullah, Head of General Services Division, Azam Khan, Head of Marketing, Development and Public Relations Division, Branch Manager and local elites were present on the occasion. A doa mehfil was also held after the inauguration of the branch.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/08-Nov-12

Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) and Foreign Commercial Banks (FCBs) have so far settled around 70 percent of disputed inland bills purchases (IBPs) through mutual negotiations.

But state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) are going slow in this regard due to delay in examining relevant documents before payments, a high official of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said Wednesday.

As of August 31’ 2012, the outstanding non-funded IBPs stood at Tk 30 billion, according to Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) data.

Of the total outstanding amount, the stake of PCBs is over Tk 8 billion while Tk 7 billion is of FCBs. The value of disputed IBPs of SoCBs stands around Tk 15 billion.

Of the amount, Sonali Bank alone owes over Tk 10 billion, as it provided acceptance on fake IBPs of the Hallmark Group that swindled an amount of Tk. 26.67 billion from different banks recently, as per ABB data.

The non-payment against accepted IBPs by different banks has come at the centre-point of discussions after the Hallmark’s loan-scam was discovered and the BB authority took a rigid stance on regulatory actions against responsible persons.

Sonali Bank management is under tremendous pressures from the ABB for making payments against accepted IBPs. But, the bank could not make payments due to fund shortage, sources inside the bank said.

Commenting on this matter, central bank deputy governor SK Sur Chowdhury told daily sun that PCBs and FCBs have cleared about 70 percent of the disputed IBPs by reaching understanding.

“Only 30 percent remains unpaid, which are claimed to be not genuine; and concerned banks are examining these that implies a little delay. But, disputed IBPs will no more remain unsettled at the end of this month,” Chowdhury claimed while talking to daily sun Wednesday.

He said a directive has been issued to Sonali Bank Tuesday asking it to make payments against the genuine IBPs claimed by other banks.

The fact is, there are many fake IBPs and banks, which made final payment seeing the acceptance of the Sonali Bank, are responsible for making the payment without necessary checking of their authenticity, he said. When asked about progress in clearance of IBPs, managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) Md Abdul Mannan, who is heading an arbitration committee to monitor and negotiate disputed IBPs, said the outstanding IBPs that are pending with Sonali Bank are of many private banks that involves over Tk 10 billion.

“Sonali Bank yet to make payment despite the ABB is pursuing its bank management since last August. Still we are pursuing,” he said.

The central bank had issued a 15-day timeline for banks to make payments against accepted IBPs upon the request of the ABB executive body at a meeting held on September 12.

The BB authority also directed the ABB to initiate arbitration approach in case of non-compliance of any bank to pay for IBPs. The BB-set deadline ended on September 27 without any significant progress in reducing the liabilities against IBPs.

Following the BB directives, a committee has been formed by bank CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) headed by IBBL managing director for arbitration on receiving of any written complaint regarding non-compliance of any bank.

The committee head said the progress in reducing the burden of outstanding IBPs has been narrow due to non-compliance of banks including the state-run Sonali Bank.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/08-Nov-12

The government has asked Bangladesh Bank (BB) to open an investigation into the allegations of illegal fund transfers of Destiny Group by its 22 directors to their personal accounts.

The Banking Division under finance ministry asked the central bank to initiate a probe on how the funds were transferred and where the money was deposited later to bring the swindlers to book.

“The Banking Division sent a letter to BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman Wednesday to take necessary actions against those directors of Destiny Group followed by proper investigation.” said a senior official of the banking division said.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Department of Off-site Supervision of the central bank will operate the investigation, the official added.

If the allegation is found to be true, the central bank may seize the funds of the MLM firm and return the money to the company’s clients, sources said.

Cases will also be filed by central bank against the high-ups of Destiny for displacing Tk 18.64 billion from the company’s fund through violating the anti-money laundering act 2012.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Tuesday said that he was examining the summary of commerce ministry report on the illegal activities of Destiny 2000.

He also said “I will ask the Bangladesh Bank to take legal action against the illegal activities of directors of Destiny Group.”

The commerce ministry last month requested the Banking Division to take necessary measures as per the recommendations of a report on the defiant activities of Destiny Group, prepared by a government-formed body headed by register of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSCF).

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/08-Nov-12