The government could not yet recover a single penny from the Hallmark Group since the massive irregularities by the bank management and dishonest officials of Hallmark Group were detected in 2012. Even the government has not dissolved the board of directors led by chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu in BASIC despite recommendations by the Bangladesh Bank almost a month ago. BB officials in a report to the ministry of finance noted that the BASIC board of directors could not avoid their responsibility for the bank’s huge defaulted loans. Bank and financial institutions division officials said they had initiated moves to dissolve the BASIC board of directors on a number of occasions in the past after the detection of the embezzlement of Tk 3,500 crore from the bank since November 2012. But the ministry of finance could not take action due to political pressure, they said. Badiul Alam, secretary of Shujan, a civil society group campaigning for good governance, said scandals in the financial sector during the present government’s rule were ‘common’ due to lack of good governance. He said the collapse of share market in 2010-11 had left many small investors flat broke. But the government failed to bring the culprits to book, he said, adding that the Awami League-led government had failed to punish anybody in 1996 when the country’s share market collapsed for the first time in its history. Bangladesh Institution of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakth, also director of the Sonali Bank board, said there was no doubt that the state-owned banks were in crisis. He noted that a quick realisation of the situation by the government could have benefitted the state-owned banks. He said monitoring by the government agencies should be bolstered to curb misappropriation of fund from the SCBs. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/19518/partisan-directors-push-scbs-to-the-brink/#sthash.CgaCh9dd.dpuf But critics said the ‘belated realisation’ by the octogenarian finance minister on the ‘politically-appointed’ directors would not bring much benefit to the ailing state-owned banks plagued by loan scandals. Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited is the latest bank to have been mired in loan scams due to an errant board of directors after a little-known Hallmark Group swindled Tk 3,500 crore out of Sonali Bank Limited in 2012. Muhith came up with the view during the dividend handover ceremony by the Bangladesh–United Arab Emirates Investment Company at the secretariat on Monday afternoon. ‘There are always some persons appointed by the government on political consideration in the banks,’ he told reporters. He went on to say that directors of state-owned banks were found involved in loan scandals and misappropriation of funds. He also blamed Bangladesh Bank for poor monitoring of the banks. Muhith said the government was planning to prepare criteria for appointment of directors to avert such unwarranted situation in future. Subhash Chandra Singha Roy, a former director to the Sonali board that sanctioned a controversial loan to Hallmark Group, refused comments on Muhith’s statement. He told New Age on Monday he would not comment on the issue since he wanted to forget the time when he had served as a director to the Sonali board. Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that Muhith’s findings would be meaningful only when the errant directors would be brought to book. Otherwise such things would continue to happen and the financial sector would bear the brunt, he noted. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/19518/partisan-directors-push-scbs-to-the-brink/#sthash.CgaCh9dd.dpufFinance minister AMA Muhith has blamed the directors appointed by the present government on political consideration for a series of loan scams in the state-owned banks over the last several years. But critics said the ‘belated realisation’ by the octogenarian finance minister on the ‘politically-appointed’ directors would not bring much benefit to the ailing state-owned banks plagued by loan scandals. Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited is the latest bank to have been mired in loan scams due to an errant board of directors after a little-known Hallmark Group swindled Tk 3,500 crore out of Sonali Bank Limited in 2012. Muhith came up with the view during the dividend handover ceremony by the Bangladesh–United Arab Emirates Investment Company at the secretariat on Monday afternoon. ‘There are always some persons appointed by the government on political consideration in the banks,’ he told reporters. He went on to say that directors of state-owned banks were found involved in loan scandals and misappropriation of funds. He also blamed Bangladesh Bank for poor monitoring of the banks. Muhith said the government was planning to prepare criteria for appointment of directors to avert such unwarranted situation in future. Subhash Chandra Singha Roy, a former director to the Sonali board that sanctioned a controversial loan to Hallmark Group, refused comments on Muhith’s statement. He told New Age on Monday he would not comment on the issue since he wanted to forget the time when he had served as a director to the Sonali board. Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that Muhith’s findings would be meaningful only when the errant directors would be brought to book. Otherwise such things would continue to happen and the financial sector would bear the brunt, he noted. 

The government could not yet recover a single penny from the Hallmark Group since the massive irregularities by the bank management and dishonest officials of Hallmark Group were detected in 2012. Even the government has not dissolved the board of directors led by chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu in BASIC despite recommendations by the Bangladesh Bank almost a month ago. BB officials in a report to the ministry of finance noted that the BASIC board of directors could not avoid their responsibility for the bank’s huge defaulted loans. Bank and financial institutions division officials said they had initiated moves to dissolve the BASIC board of directors on a number of occasions in the past after the detection of the embezzlement of Tk 3,500 crore from the bank since November 2012. But the ministry of finance could not take action due to political pressure, they said. Badiul Alam, secretary of Shujan, a civil society group campaigning for good governance, said scandals in the financial sector during the present government’s rule were ‘common’ due to lack of good governance. He said the collapse of share market in 2010-11 had left many small investors flat broke. But the government failed to bring the culprits to book, he said, adding that the Awami League-led government had failed to punish anybody in 1996 when the country’s share market collapsed for the first time in its history. Bangladesh Institution of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakth, also director of the Sonali Bank board, said there was no doubt that the state-owned banks were in crisis. He noted that a quick realisation of the situation by the government could have benefitted the state-owned banks. He said monitoring by the government agencies should be bolstered to curb misappropriation of fund from the SCBs.