The Bangladesh Bank board has strictly advised the governor not to give his consent to any incompetent person for directorship at any state bank.

The suggestion came yesterday as the BB is in the process of filling the posts of 26 directors at three such banks that have remained vacant for more than three months now.

BB Director Sadiq Ahmed said the central bank's board members have told the authorities to properly examine the list of the persons proposed for the directorial positions.

“We have a strong opinion that in no way an inefficient person gets the central bank's consent and passes the 'fit and proper' criteria of the BB,” Ahmed said.

Last Monday, the finance ministry sent a partial list to the central bank of the candidates it is considering for the directorial posts at the banks, which the BB is now going over.

An official of the finance ministry said some political persons have been placed on the partial list sent to the BB.

At yesterday's meeting, the BB board members discussed the role of the directors of the state banks and said some board members of the banks were allegedly involved in the recent scams. The BB authorities were told to be alert so that no such wrong person gets to become a director.

In this regard, another BB official said the present 'fit and proper' criterion was antiquated and some articles were so loosely-defined that the BB has very little scope to hold back the political personalities from assuming the directorial posts at the banks.

Meanwhile, the IMF mission that visited Dhaka recently has also advised the government to ensure that the directors of the banks satisfactorily pass the central bank's fit and proper measure. The IMF mission raised the issue in the backdrop of the irregularities unearthed recently.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/20th-Dec-12