Members of Yunus Shurid (Friends of Yunus) at a meeting in Chittagong yesterday expressed deep concern over the recent proposed change in the legal structure of Grameen Bank.

Professor Muhammad Sekandar Khan, vice chancellor of East Delta University and also the convener of Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus Shurid (Friends) Chattagram, presided over the meeting.

The bank was formed for the poor and it helped to reduce poverty in the country for long, speakers said, adding that with the government's recent interference this process of poverty reduction will be greatly hampered.

One of the speakers said such government initiative may result in the bank losing its main characteristic of serving poor and 97 percent ownership by poor women shareholders. The bank may ultimately turn and work like other state-owned banks of the country, he said.

The meeting urged the government to change its decision and restore the bank to its original form.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/  7th Aug 2012