Standard Chartered Bank inaugurated an employee banking kiosk on the premises of British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) office recently, says a press release. The kiosk is a unique dedicated space for the BATB employees to avail themselves of the Bank’s services.

The kiosk has an ATM machine with deposit options, an online banking module, phone banking, product and service information area and two customer service help desks for the employees to enjoy the products and services of the Bank from their office premises.

The unveiling of the employee banking kiosk was done by Abrar Anwar, managing director and head of origination and client coverage, and Arun Kaul, managing director of BATB. Other senior officials of both organisations were present.

Source: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 12th Dec 2011

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has launched iTransfer and iRecharge services. It will introduce new horizon in the banking sector of Bangladesh, the officials said on Sunday. Through iTransfer one can transfer upto Tk 5 lakh from his account to other’s and through iRecharge one can upload money in his mobile by debiting his Bank account, said a release of the Bank.
On the occasion, the bank organised a workshop for 61 IT officers of different branches of Dhaka at Mohammad Younis auditorium, Islami Bank Tower in the city on Sunday.
Mohammad Abdul Mannan, managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, was present as the chief guest. The programme was also attended by high officials of the Bank.

Source: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 12th Dec 2011

A five-day Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) fair will begin on December 20 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city. Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the country’s apex trade body, is organising the fifth SME fair, according to a FBCCI release.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the fair while President M Zillur Rahman will distribute SME awards among successful entrepreneurs on December 23.

Source: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 12th Dec 2011

The central bank has decided to start special inspection to verify the reports submitted by banks on their holding and utilisation of foreign exchange, officials said.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has initiated the latest move against the backdrop of allegations of concealment of facts in the reports, which has resulted in volatility in the country's foreign exchange (forex) market recently.

"Our probe team will start investigation from Sunday (today)," a BB senior official told the FE Saturday, adding that the central bank will take drastic action against the errant banks after receiving the inspection reports.

The probe teams will investigate different aspects of foreign exchange dealings in line with the existing foreign exchange rules and regulations, the central banker said.

Besides, the inspection teams will examine the latest reports on foreign exchange deals covering both inter-bank foreign exchange market and corporate clients.

"The inspectors will also check the exchange rates offered by the commercial banks against US dollar, for receiving remittance from overseas exchange houses," the BB official said.

The central bank started collecting information on such exchange rates from the commercial banks through e-mail or fax since October 13 last to stop 'unhealthy' competition among the banks to offer higher exchange rates to the overseas exchange houses.

The BB official also said the central bank wants to know whether the banks are applying their due diligence or not while quoting the exchange rates.

"We are trying to trace unreported funds

held by the commercial banks by using different techniques," another BB official said, adding the teams will also examine the overall outflow, inflow and swap deals of the banks relating to foreign currency.

During the inspection, the teams will check the overseas accounts maintained by local banks with foreign banks, generally known as NOSTRO accounts, to know the actual foreign exchange position, the central banker noted.

The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) has been under pressure, leading to its depreciation in recent days against the US dollar, mainly due to higher demand for the greenback for settlement of import payments.

The local currency depreciated by 2.38 per cent against the US dollar at the level of customers opening LCs against import this month while the BDT lost its value by 1.90 per cent against the US currency in the inter-bank forex market.

The average exchange rate of US dollar rose to Tk 80.4923 for bills for collection (BC) on December 8 last from Tk 78.6211 on December 01, according to the statistics of Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA).

On the other hand, the US dollar was quoted at Tk 78.20-Tk 78.60 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market on December 8 last against Tk 76.92-Tk 76.95 on December 01 last, the BB data showed.

Source: The Financial Express/ Bangladesh/ 11th Dec 2011

Eastern Bank Limited (EBL), organised a workshop on “Global Trade Services and Challenges in Bangladesh” at The Peninsula Chittagong on December 6, says a press release. International Chamber of Commerce rules and regulations, global practices and different challenges for Bangladesh were discussed during the workshop.

The workshop was conducted by Vincent O’Brien, chair, International Chamber of Commerce Market Intelligence Group and Dr Shah Md Ahsan Habib, professor and director (training), Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management.

Mohammad Noushad Ali Chowdhury, general manager of Bangladesh Bank, Chittagong attended the programme as the chief guest. Ahmed Shaheen, executive vice-president of EBL, Ahsan Zaman Chowdhury, senior vice-president and area head of corporate banking, Chittagong and Md Obaidul Islam, head of international division were present, among others.

More than one hundred participants from different corporate and SME business houses and EBL officials took part in the workshop.

Source: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 11th Dec 2011