Atif Bajwa, the newly appointed group chief executive officer of Bank Alfalah, arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day tour, the Bank said in a statement.

During the visit, Bajwa will meet the employees of the Bank, regulators and valued clients.
Bajwa has over 29 years of international banking experience and has worked in Europe, US, Far East, the Middle East and Pakistan.

He started his career with Citibank as a corporate banker in 1982 and handled different assignments with Citi in Pakistan, New York, Bahrain and Central and Eastern Europe.

He also worked with ABN AMRO Bank, Mashreq Bank and MCB Bank, according to the statement.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 9th 8eb 2012

Jamuna Bank Foundation has opened a free eye camp and blankets distribution programme at Konra Primary School at Nagarpur in Tangail recently.

Khandaker Abdul Baten, MP, inaugurated the free eye camp and distribution blankets to the cold-hit people of the area, said a press release.

Al-Haj Nur Mohammad, chairman of Jamuna Bank Foundation presided over the programme while secretary of bridges division, ministry of communications Khandaker Anawarul Islam was present on the occasion as special guest.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 8th Feb 2012

Andrew Tilke, chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh, attends the launch of Young Entrepreneur Challenge-2012, a competition for undergraduate students, at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Talukdar Noman Anwar, head of marketing, communications and sustainability, was also present.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Ltd yesterday launched the Young Entrepreneur Challenge (YEC) in Bangladesh to promote business ideas and creativity of undergraduate students.

In its sixth edition in Bangladesh and 12th in the Asia Pacific region, the YEC is an annual, regional competition designed to encourage young people to demonstrate their creativity, acquire a wide range of practical business knowledge and skills, and unleash the power of their potential.

"It aims to promote the enterprising spirit among undergraduate students and their creativity," said HSBC Bangladesh CEO Andrew Tilke while launching the programme at a press conference in Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

"It is an ideal platform to demonstrate their challenge," he said.

Since 2006, when the programme was first launched in Bangladesh, the country's team has either grabbed the top position at grand finale in Hong Kong or become second, said Talukdar Noman Anwar, head of marketing, communications and sustainability.

He said participating teams are required to submit a very brief business idea within 1,000 words.

Having passed through two levels of screening and workshops on entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, five best teams will present their plans to a panel of experts at the Bangladesh finale.

The gold, silver and bronze winners of Bangladesh finale will receive trophies and cash prizes of Tk 75,000, Tk 45,000 and Tk 35,000 respectively.

The champion team from Bangladesh will compete at the regional grand finale in June this year. Champion teams from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Shanghai, Philippines, Brunei and Bangladesh will compete for the prestigious honour.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 8th Feb 2012

Bangladesh Bank yesterday gave a go-ahead to five private sector projects to take loans worth $152.8 million from foreign sources, the regulator said in a statement.

The loans include $100 million for Airtel Bangladesh, $30 million for Acron Infrastructure Services, $5.30 million for Confidence Salt Ltd and $15 million for Nator Agro.

The rest of the amount was approved for the readymade garment sector.

The highest interest rate of the projects is six-month LIBOR+4 percent in a year. The effective interest rate will be within 4.58 percent per annum, the central bank said.

The approval came at the 61st meeting of the scrutiny committee of the BB presided over by its governor Atiur Rahman at its office in Dhaka.

“This type of foreign financing will be helpful in keeping the foreign exchange rate stable and will impact positively on the balance of payments of the country,” according to the statement.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 8th Feb 2012

Private commercial banks yesterday self-imposed a cap on their lending and deposit rates to check unhealthy competition in the market.

At a meeting, the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) decided to offer an interest rate of 12.5 percent on deposits and charge 15.5 percent for industrial term loans and working capital.

However, loans for consumers, home loans and credit cards will be out of the purview.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, chairman of ABB, presided over the meeting at its office in Dhaka.

Amin said at present, there is no cap on the lending and deposit rates. "Under the circumstance, we should not behave in a way that creates indiscipline."

"There should not be any sudden jump in the lending or deposit rates. We have taken the initiative to keep the hike at a rational level," he told The Daily Star.

Amin, also the managing director of NCC Bank, said Bangladesh Bank also wants to keep the interest rate spread below 5 percent.

"In line with the spirit of the central bank, we also want unhealthy competition in the banking sector to end."

He said the association of bankers, however, did not impose any written cap. "We have urged the bankers to comply with the decision, which will ensure discipline and benefit the business community."

ABB has taken the decision due to "moral suasion" by the central bank, said a member of the association.

This came a day after top officials of the central bank sat with leaders of ABB and urged them to keep the spread at below 5 percent.

BB also observed that the lending rate would never exceed 15 percent when the spread is below 5 percent.

On January 4, the central bank withdrew the 13 percent interest rate limit on bank loans, prompting the private banks to increase their lending rates.

According to BB data, 18 out of 30 private banks charged 16 percent to 18 percent for industrial loans and working capital in January.

The hike in interest rate invoked sharp criticism from the business community including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the country's apex trade body.

In addition, the term deposit rates last month ranged between 11 and 12 percent. However, eight banks offered deposit rates between 13 and 14.5 percent, showed data.

Many bankers said the deposit rates could have gone up further in the coming months due to ongoing unhealthy competition among the banks on deposit rates.

As a result, the lending rate would have gone up further, they said.

"We have self-imposed the cap on productive loans and loans for essential commodities," a member of ABB said.

A senior BB official said until 2007-08, there had been no cap on deposit rates or loans since the country introduced a liberalised policy in the banking system in 1992.

The immediate past caretaker government imposed a cap on lending rates due to the global economic crisis.

While announcing the monetary policy statement in July last year, the central bank said it would withdraw the cap on lending.

When the central bank withdrew the cap in January, it said it would monitor the situation so that rates do not go up abnormally.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 8th Feb 2012