The central bank launched an automated clearing house at its office in Barisal on Sunday for faster settlement of transactions and payment systems as part of its move to digitalise the country’s banking system.

Twenty six branches of commercial and scheduled banks in Barisal came under online system of Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH) at Bangladesh Bank (BB).

The system will significantly reduce settlement time from three days to only two hours.

“We moved one step ahead of many other countries by introducing this modern technology-based payment and transaction system,” BB deputy Governor Murshid Kuli Khan said while inaugurating the clearing house as chief guest at the central bank’s Barisal branch office.

Golam Mostafa, general manager Barisal BB presided over the progamme.

Dasgupta Asim Kumar, executive director of BB, Mohammad Akhlasuddin, deputy director of BB, Majibur Rahman, GM of Kirishi Bank, Mominul Huq, VP of NBL, Biswadev Manadal, zonal head of Janata Bank, and other high officials of public and private commercial, schedule and specialised banks were present.

The Department for International Development (DFID) of United Kingdom funded $8.5 million to implement the Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH).

The deputy governor of BB stressed on ‘green banking’ for the coastal and southern region of the country.

He said the main benefit of the new BACH system will go to the business firms and to the remittance earners as they will get their payments within a day instead of waiting for a number of days. This will facilitate the online banking as well.

BACH system is based on latest state-of-the art technology. It’s a most secured system,’ he said.

The BB deputy governor also said the existing clearing system would also continue alongside the new one.

He said the new automated system will contribute one per cent to the GDP through expediting the business transactions.

Under the new automated system, banks will get rid of sending cheques physically to the clearing house at the central bank for fund transfers. Now, the banks can do the job online from their own offices using machine readable cheques and the funds will be transferred electronically.

However, the banks can also drop their cheques at the BACH at Bangladesh Bank where the machine can take image and data of 300 cheques per minute.

The new magnetic ink character recognition encoded cheques have already been introduced by different banks to integrate with the new system, sources said. The encoded cheques will reduce the cheque clearance time to only two hours from the two days required so long, the source added.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ May-08-2011

Grameen Bank's retired and 'repressed' employees have given its removed managing director Muhammad Yunus seven days to leave the bank building. The ultimatum came from a rally arranged by a forum of the bank's retired and 'repressed' employees in front of its Mirpur head office on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Grameen Bank Karmachari Samiti in Chittagong demanded that Yunus be made the bank's chairman. The retired and 'repressed' employees took out a procession welcoming the Supreme Court verdict before giving the ultimatum.
'Grameen Bank Nirjatita Karmi Parishad' chairman K M Shahidul said at the rally: "Tougher programmes will be declared if Yunus doesn't quit the Grameen Bank building within seven days."

News: The independent/ Bangladesh/ May-08-2011

AB Bank Limited, with a vision to expand its alternative delivery channel, inaugurated its first ATM Kiosk at Baridhara in the city.

Lt Gen Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, Quarter Master General of Bangladesh Army along with AB Bank president and managing director, Kaiser A Chowdhury inaugurated the ATM Kiosk on May 8, 2011. President of Baridhara DOHS Parishad Maj Gen (Retd) Kazi Ashfaque Ahmed along with the senior officials of AB Bank were also present at function.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ May-08-2011

Bangladesh Bank has been making efforts to have the people rational on inflation in the context of current global economic situation by preparing half yearly monetary policy report, said a central bank’s statement.

The statement presents an evaluation of the BB’s activities and initiatives taken during the last two years since Dr Atiur Rahman took office as Governor in May 2009.

Apart from conventional regulations, BB went for a sustainable economic development through financial inclusion, poverty alleviation, human resources development along with stabilising the financial sector, it said in the evaluation.

Standard and Poor's and Moody`s, two internationally recognised credit rating agencies, has positively rated Bangladesh BB-and Ba3 respectively in two separate sovereign rating, highlighting world appraisal of country’s economic resilience as well as opening up a horizon of possibility.

The Central Bank’s shifting includes policy level, legal and institutional activities to address the macro-economic challenges, since May 2009 when Dr Atiur Rahman took office as BB chief.

Three key objectives were considered in formulating the monetary policy: reining in inflation, attaining inclusive and equitable economic growth and maintaining overall financial stability.

On the new world economic threshold, BB is revealing half-yearly monetary policy statement for a more pragmatic one to cope with new challenges.

Monetary and credit policies have been made more active to expand financial inclusion along with enhanced financing to agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SME).

Agro sector witnessed both the quantitative and qualitative changes in last two years/since May 2009

A Taka five-billion re-financing scheme, for the first time, to made credit available for the millions of sharecroppers, who are usually left out of the facility.

1,26,686 marginal farmers received more than Tk 2.18 billion as agri-loan up to March 2011.

Besides, farmers are provided with two-percent-interest loan to grow import substitute spices, which is also considered a great success for the regulator.

In 2009-10 fiscal year banks achieved 97 percent of their agro loan disbursement target while they have fulfilled 73 percent of the target in first nine months of current fiscal year.

A major move to financial inclusion is letting marginal farmers open bank accounts with only depositing Tk 10, giving an end to years of deprivation of government subsidies meant for them. Freedom fighters also got the same facility to receive their allowances hassle-free.

9.3 million farmers have so far opened such accounts to enjoy government subsidies and other banking facilities.

From March 2009 to February this year, 764 new bank branches have been opened across the country to make people enjoy financial facility at their doorsteps. Moreover, a new bank-- ‘Expatriate Welfare Bank’ has been opened targeting overseas jobseekers.

SMEs got special priority as BB opened a dedicated department for SMEs. In 2010 it formulated an elaborated policy for SME credit.

Solar energy, bio-gas, effluent treatment plant (ETP), non-polluting brick kilns--all drew special attention of BB under its green financing initiative of creating a Tk 2-billion revolving fund, of which, banks have managed to disburse only Tk 110 million.

BB, meanwhile, issued green banking guidelines to banks and NBFIs to ensure green financing.

A systematic reform in the BB run Equity and Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF) to make dynamic has led to financing of Tk 7.09 billion to 430 agro and 16 ICT projects

Spending Banks and financial institutions under the CSR activities rose to Tk 3.91 billion in 2010, from Tk 550 million in 2009, because BB has made this mandatory for them.

A five-year strategic plan has been chalked out for a more dynamic, efficient & resilient financial system, which strenthenged BB’s regulatory and surveilence structure.

Basel-II implementation is underway in banks and financial institutions to make them more stress tolerent. Regular CAMEL rating and stress testing are also on.

BB’s strict monitoring and active role to keep balance between demand and supply of foreign currency have made the exchange rate stable, while remittance inflow and trade blance remain in favour of the country.

In last two years BB was relentless in its efforts to establish a secure and modern automated payment and settlement system.

Online banking, mobile banking, e-commerce, e-tendering, e-recruitment, automated clearing house, electronic fund transfer (EFT) and online CIB has already been introduced as part of a digital banking system.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ May-04-2011

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpor- ation (HSBC) Limited in Bangladesh has relocated its Uttara office to Atlanta Trade Centre with effect from May 2, 2011.

With this relocation from N R Complex, the new office will offer a full range of world-class services to customers.

Johnson K S Chang, chief risk officer, Laila F Rahim, deputy head of Personal Financial Services and other senior officials of HSBC Bangladesh were present at the inauguration of the new office.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ May-04-2011