A total of eight new commercial banks, including three non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) banks, may get approval at the next board of directors' meeting of Bangladesh Bank, sources said.

The meeting is likely to be held on March 27 for taking the final decision on allowing new private commercial banks (PCBs).

Sources close to the decision-making level, however, did not mention the names of all the new scheduled banks, but they hinted that the whole thing would be based on the desire of the "high-ups in the government".

Names of the three proposed NRB banks -- NRB Commercial Bank Limited, NRB Bank Limited and NRB Bank Limited -- were placed before the board on March 15 for approval, but no final decision was taken at that meeting.

"The country will receive around US$ 150 million as paid-up capital, in aggregate, from the NRB banks if the board gives them its approval," a source said, speaking in favour of allowing the three NRB banks.

The foreign currency thus obtained will help improve the country's foreign exchange reserve position, he said, adding that the NRB banks would also help in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly from the NRBs across the world.

"We're now working on holding another board meeting by the end of this month," an executive director of Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE, adding that the board would take the final decision on approval of the new banks, both PCBs and those involving NRBs.

The BB executive director did not specify the number of banks to be approved at the board meeting.

Meanwhile, the preliminary scrutiny of all 16 applications selected for establishing the new PCBs was almost completed Monday, another central bank official said.

A four-member technical evaluation committee, headed by general manager of the Foreign Exchange Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank -- Ahmed Jamal, was earlier formed to examine the primarily selected applications from persons seeking to set up new PCBs.

"The technical evaluation committee will submit a report with scores of all applications to the application evaluation committee within a couple of days for giving it a final shape," the central bank official said.

Another four-member separate application evaluation committee, headed by Senior Deputy Governor of BB Abul Quasem, has already been formed to finalise the evaluation report on the applications.

"The report relating to the setting up of new commercial banks will be placed before the next board meeting for final approval," the BB official said without elaborating.

Earlier, 37 applications were submitted with the central bank for setting up new PCBs. Of them, 21 were rejected by a preliminary committee due mainly to the lack of necessary papers and documents.

Currently, a total of 47 commercial banks are in operation in Bangladesh.

Financial Express/Bangladesh/ 20th March 2012