Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB), in continuation of its financial support for two families affected by BDR carnage of 2009, has disbursed this year’s contribution.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the MTB cheques to the bereaved family members at a function at Gonobhaban in the city recently, said a press release.

MTB founding Chairman Syed Manzur Elahi and Managing Director and CEO Anis A Khan were present at the event.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ Mar-02-2011

The management of Pubali Bank Ltd has extended its hands to provide financial assistance to the bereaved family members of the martyred army officers who were assassinated in the BDR carnage in 2009.

As part of it, the bank has been donating Tk 4,80,000 every year to one on the martyred army officers’ family for ten years, said a press release.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at a function at Ganobhaban recently, handed over a cheque for the said amount donated by the bank for the third year.

Chairman, Board of Directors of Pubali Bank Ltd Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder MP handed over the cheque on behalf of the bank to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Managing director of the bank Helal Ahmed Chowdhury was also present on the occasion.

Pubali Bank's Board as a part of its corporate social responsibility contributed the amount as financial assistance to the family.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ Mar-02-2011

The government should take immediate steps to bring down bank interest rates to single-digit to help flourish the country’s shipbuilding industry. Other shipbuilding nations are providing financial assistances with a very low interest rate for the development of the sector, speakers at view exchange meeting here on Tuesday said. Chittagong Press Club (CPC) organised the meeting titled, “Role of Ship Building Industry in Country’s Economy” at its auditorium. Md Sakhawat Hossain, Managing Director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, was the key speaker with CPC President Abu Sufian in the chair. Key speaker Sakhawat Hossain said that government might reduce the bank loan interest rate to single digit for shipbuilding industry and ensure other facilities like 15 percent cash incentives on export, exemption of import duty on local shipbuilding materials, provision of tax holiday and easy access to foreign experts. “If the facilities are provided, then the shipbuilding industry will help Bangladesh turn into a Middle Income Country (MIC) within the next 10 years”, he asserted. He further said that the shipbuilding industry has emerged enormously in the country during the past few years and Bangladesh recently received orders worth Tk 600 million for building 42 vessels. Shipbuilding industry can play a vital role in creating huge employment, increasing foreign currency earning, developing backward linkage, he said suggesting immediate development of four shipyard zones in the country’s Karnaphuli, Meghna, Mongla and Potualhali river bank in this regard. “Heavy logistic support is required to facilitate such massive sector which is not available in our country, so the government needs to provide support to uplift this potential and emerging industry,” opined Sakhawat Hossain. Later, Sakhawat Hossain donated Tk 200,000 to Chittagong Press Club as lifetime donor member.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ Mar-02-2011

---

Employees of different organisations and firms now can draw their salaries from their bank accounts under an electronic fund transfer (EFT) network of 40 banks that the central bank introduced yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman formally inaugurated the paperless system at the central bank premises after the introduction of an automated cheque processing system last year.

The new system will enable any corporate customer to pay salaries to its employees through accounts in different banks.

The central bank governor said the step is a milestone in making the banking sector of Bangladesh more technology-dependent, automated and customer friendly.

In the first phase, credit transaction has been introduced, while the debit transaction will start later, BB officials said at the inaugural function.

Rahman said, with the introduction of Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN), the customers will be able to do various transactions including electronic process payment of salary, overseas and local remittance and utilities' bill payment and government tax payment through the 40 banks.

He also said the system will be quicker and cost-effective compared to paper-based clearing system.

The banks will be able to provide internet and mobile banking facilities if they want, the governor added.

BB Deputy Governor Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui said the system will also quicken remittance transfer.

He said 30 percent of the remittance recipients are the clients of the banks of the network and the rest 70 percent are of other banks.

Siddiqui said, through the EFT the clients of other banks will also get remittances quickly.

BB Deputy Director Ali Kamran Al Zahid, who presented detailed information of the EFT to the journalists, said cheques and other paper-based payments are expensive and have increasing fraud risks, but electronic payments are more secured, fast and less expensive.

He said payment through cheque costs $1.2, while it is only 10 cents under the electronic system.

The automated system was introduced with the financing from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) under a project taken in 2006. As a part of it, initially the automated cheque clearing system was introduced in October last year in Dhaka.

The system came to effect in Sylhet in January this year, while in Chittagong in February.

The BB officials said about 80 percent cheques are now being settled through the automated system.

News: The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ Mar-01-2011

Madhavi Lall, Regional Head of Human Resources, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank arrives in Dhaka for a 2 day official visit. She will be meeting various stakeholders of the bank during her visit, says a press release. Madhavi plays a key role in the Management Committee of the Bank in India. She is also a Director on the Board for Standard Chartered Finance Limited. She has over 20 years of experience and has held various positions in ABN Amro Bank, Colgate Palmolive India and HCL Hewlett Packard Ltd.
Madhavi holds a Post Graduation degree in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi and an MBA with specialization in Human Resources and Systems from XLRI Jamshedpur.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ Mar-01-2011