The central bank has detected a case of sending a fake circular to different banks using the name of Bangladesh Bank. The central bank has alerted the banks to the fraud case.

The fake circular “directed” the banks to take the subscription fees paid to international news agency Reuters by different local news agencies, in local currency instead of foreign currency.

It also said the "chief executive officer" (CEO) of Reuters in Bangladesh and the BB entered into an agreement that the fees against the services of the international news agency should be paid in local currency.

The circular also said if the banks did not comply with the directive, action would be taken against them under anti-money laundering law.

The fake circular, issued on December 9, was sent to different banks by courier.

As the circular raised suspicion among the officials of the private banks, an official brought the matter to the notice of the central bank yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman held a meeting with the high officials of the BB and directed them to take necessary steps, an official said.

SK Sur Chowdhury, executive director of the central bank, told The Daily Star that it is a "unique way" of cheating.

He said the central bank informed the banks yesterday that it was a fake circular and directed them to check with the Bangladesh Bank website if they receive any circular in future.

The central bank also informed the intelligence agencies to investigate the matter and find out who are involved with the forgery.

Contacted, an official of the Reuters Bangladesh office said the news agency does not have a CEO post in Dhaka, and there is no scope for such agreement.

Source: The Dailystar

The booming shipbuilding industry may get a Tk 200 crore refinancing fund, as the Bangladesh Bank (BB) will review the scheme tomorrow at its board meeting.

The central bank is keen to start funding the industry under the scheme, said an official of the central bank yesterday.

The BB earlier sanctioned the fund to give a further boost to the sector, which is considered to be the country's second largest export industry after readymade garment.

Once approved, shipbuilders will get loan at a 10 percent interest rate. The other criteria of the scheme will be disclosed elaborately after the finance ministry's approval, the BB official added.

Industry insiders said the much expected refinancing is being delayed due to an apprehension that such funding may influence the rising inflation.

But people from the banking sector, dismissing the fear, said the fund is too small to impact inflation.

High financing cost is the only bottleneck in the growing industry, said Abdullahhel Bari, president of Association of Export Oriented Shipbuilding Industries of Bangladesh.

Source: The Daily Star

DHAKA, DEC 26: Chowdhury Mohammad Kayes Sami, former managing director of The Oriental Bank Limited, has been appointed as managing director (MD) of the newly founded bank Expatriate Welfare Bank (Probashi Kallayan Bank) on contract basis for two years.
The establishment ministry issued a circular in this regard on Sunday. Sources in the expatriate ministry said that the newly appointed managing director of the bank will join within couple of days and kickstart its work by January next year. Headquarters and regional office of the specialised bank has already set up in the Eskaton area in the city.
The bank was established recently aimed at promoting by manpower exports and provide services to non-resident Bangladeshis. A cabinet meeting on July 5 gave final approval for the Expatriate Welfare Bank Act 2010 with an aim to provide collateral free loans to the people intending to go abroad for employment.
Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan, secretary of the ministry of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, earlier, told
The Independent that they are planning to sign agreements with remittance transfer companies like the ‘Western Money Union’ soon as the migrant workers will be able to send their hard-earned money to their families safely and easily through the bank.
“None will have to sell his land and properties to go abroad for job. The new bank will provide loans for their safe migration,” he said.
“The bank will be established with full expatriate equity and management.
Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan said that the Expatriate Welfare Bank would be a fully commercial scheduled bank in future.

Source: The Independent

DHAKA, Dec 25: Bangladesh Bank (BB) will adopt a more flexible monetary policy next year to cope up with the increasing inflation, food prices and boost rural resources in both farm and non-farm sectors. The new monetary policy, scheduled for mid-January, will put the target for taming inflation, accelerating inclusive growth, reducing poverty and bringing a holistic change in the rural economy, BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said on Saturday.
Rahman was addressing a programme of Southeast Bank in the city to distribute scholarships among meritorious students under the CSR (corporate social responsibility) scheme of the bank.
Speaking about the ensuing monetary policy, he said the policy would be more flexible to accelerate inclusive growth, faster poverty reduction and spur rural economy.
The BB is now also pursuing a flexible monetary policy while it is moderately regulating the rate of interest, money supply and banks’ involvement in non-core financial sector.
The central bank during this outgoing year capped interest rate to boost lending to industries, agriculture and other productive sectors when it discouraged banks to finance non- productive areas like real-estate and stock market.
Rahman did not detail the next policy, but made it clear that the central bank would give more attention to bring a holistic change in the rural economy, meaning rural farm and non- farm sectors would get more and cheaper loans.
The central bank in its current monetary policy has focused on inclusion of the people who have not getting institutional services for a long time.
The initiatives include offering farmers bank account for Taka 10, disbursing loan to sharecroppers and introducing mobile banking.
The governor said the new policy would focus on how banks can brought more rural people under institutional financial services.
A BB official said the governor is meeting the country’s leading economists tomorrow (Sunday) to discuss the monetary policy.
The governor already held similar meeting with former governors, business leaders and bankers to make the monetary policy more conducive to domestic economy, the official said.     BSS

Source: The Independent

Rejaul Karim Byron

The default loans recovery remains poor, despite drives from the central bank and state-owned banks.

Bangladesh Bank data shows only 12 percent achievement of the Tk 388 crore bad debt recovery target from top 20 defaulters in 2010. During January-September, state-commercial banks could recover Tk 47crore.

The target was to recover Tk 1,352 crore from other default borrowers, but Tk 597 crore or 44 percent was recovered in the first nine months of the current calendar year.

Till September 2010, such bad loans stood at around Tk 12,080 crore.

Among the state banks, Sonali Bank could retrieve 1.14 percent, Janata 19.79 percent, Agrani 26.35 percent and Rupali 3.19 percent from the top 20 defaulters.

Realising the bad loans is among the specific targets Bangladesh Bank has set for the state banks.

The central bank has been putting pressure for years on these banks to recover fast the bad loans.

“There is no significant improvement yet in bad loan recovery, especially from the top defaulters,” said a central bank high official.

State bank officials attribute such slow recovery to a sloth in the disposal of cases filed against the defaulters. Big defaulters' writ petitions lying with higher court have also stuck up the whole process of realisation of the classified loans, they pointed out.

“The influential borrowers file writ petitions with the High Court and get the loan recovery process stalled,” Sonali's Chairman Qazi Baharul Islam told The Daily Star.

When the bank goes for acquiring a property mortgaged against the loans, the initiative turns futile just because of legal barriers, Islam said.

The biggest state bank chief also pointed to policy flaws. The relaxation in loan repayment the government allows for the sick industrial units in the apparel and jute sectors is also a hindrance to the bad loans recovery, he said.

The defaulters often apply for loan rescheduling without making any downpayment, he said.

Islam also pointed out that banks were helped in re-capitalisation to face global recession fallout, but the government had not extended to the banks any concessions with regard to loan recovery or its sanction.

According to Bangladesh Bank statistics, till September 30, a total of 21,029 cases relating to recovery of loans remained pending with the courts. Borrowers owe Tk 11,810 crore to the state banks.

Meanwhile, an IMF mission that visited Bangladesh recently has urged the government to initiate a second time reform programme to improve the state banks' overall performances. Recovering bad loans and meeting the banks' capital deficit are under the purview of such a reform scheme.

However, the government has formed a bank reform commission headed by the Sonali Bank chairman.

A finance ministry official said following the commission's recommendations they will start the reform programme.

Source:The Daily Star