ndustries ministry has recommended that in the new law for the Grameen Bank, three members should make a quorum in the board of directors of the micro-credit institution and the chairman of the board should arrange board meetings every three months. In the existing Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, the government, being a 25% stakeholder, appoints three members to the Grameen Bank board of directors. However, in the ordinance, four members make a quorum. Under the ordinance, Grameen Bank has 12 members, nine of whom are elected from the bank’s female stakeholders. On August 14, an inter-ministerial meeting at the finance ministry decided to finalise the procedures to turn the 1983 ordinance that now governs the organisation into a law. Bangladesh Bank, industries ministry and NGO bureau submitted their recommendations on the issue to the banking division this week. After the meeting, Banking Secretary Md Aslam Alam had told reporters that after receiving suggestions from different stakeholders, a summary would be submitted to the finance minister for approval and then to the cabinet. Industries ministry also recommended that the educational qualification of the three government officials who would be selected as board members should be set in the new law. Bangladesh Bank has opined that there should be no bar on transaction of securities and money for persons and organisations by the Nobel Prize winning microcredit pioneer Grameen Bank, since many financial institutions that are not scheduled banks also hold similar transactions. The central bank has submitted its recommendations to the finance ministry’s banking division, following the division’s request to all stakeholders of Grameen Bank to give their opinions on a new Grameen Bank law within August 25. Officials in the banking division said they did not want Grameen Bank to operate as a scheduled bank because it operates now under the ordinance as a financial organisation with NGO motives. Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday that the government would try to protect the “originality” of the microcredit organisation Grameen Bank. The central bank recommended that any person and organisation should be allowed to open accounts in Grameen Bank and any person and organisation as mediators for opening of accounts should be encouraged. The central bank also advised that city corporations, municipalities and cantonments, which do not have any Grameen Bank operations at present, should be included in the new law. It also suggested that the new law should exclude the Bangladesh Bank Order which is included in the existing ordinance and the Banking Companies Act 1991 should replace the existing Bank Companies Ordinance 1962. Grameen Bank should follow the Bangladesh Accounting Standard to prepare its financial reports and Bangladesh Bank directives should be strictly maintained, as per the recommendations. The profits of Grameen Bank should be used to off-set its bad loan and doubtful debts, the central bank suggested. Industries ministry opined that the definition of a landless person should be changed to owner of 20 decimal land or less instead of 50 decimal or less, and also someone who may inherit land should not be classified as landless. The ministry also said the new law should have clarifications on what conditions would constitute the easy loan conditions for the landless. The industries ministry recommendations were signed by Assistant Secretary Anwar Hossain of the ministry of industries. The Bangladesh Bank recommendations were signed by General Manager of Banking Regulation and Policy Department Chowdhury Md. Feroz Bin Alam. The ministry recommended that Grameen Bank could be allowed to operate businesses under the new law but not outside its scope. The banking division three months ago formed a committee comprising of Supreme Court’s Additional Attorney General Murad Raza and IFIC Bank Managing Director M Shah Alam Sarwar to make recommendations on the Grameen Bank Law 2013 which will replace the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983. The committee submitted its recommendations to the division on June 16, suggesting increasing Grameen Bank’s capital to Tk3.5bn from the existing Tk30m and its paid-up capital to Tk3bn from the existing Tk59m. They suggested that nine directors should be elected after being scrutinised by two electorates appointed by the Grameen Bank management. News:Dhaka Tribune Bangladesh/30-Aug-2013