NCC Bank Limited, has signed an agreement with Software Shop Limited (operating under the brand name “SSL Wireless”) to implement 3D Secure Solution for its customers and has activated the service for their customers recently. Due to the activation of this service, the cardholders of NCC Bank will be prompted with a numeric password while performing Card-Not-Present or e-commerce transactions. Golam Hafiz Ahmed (Managing Director & CEO), Mosleh Uddin Ahmed (Additional Managing Director), Abu Zafore Md. Saleh (Deputy Managing Director) & Md. Fazlur Rahman (Deputy Managing Director) of NCC Bank Limited along with Sayeeful Islam (Managing Director) and Ashish Chakraborty (General Manager) of SSL Wireless, were present during the activation ceremony on behalf of their respective organizations at the Head Office of NCC Bank.

The bank will appoint two auditors

The BB letter mentioned that Agrani violated rules for loans amounting to Tk 792 crore.

The move against Hamid comes after the central bank's inspections into Agrani's main branch and the Asadganj and Laldighi East branches in Chittagong established the allegations against him.

The BB notice said Hamid approved loans for a select few clients by violating the directives of the central bank and the Agrani board of directors.

In 2011, a Tk 120 crore loan was extended to Tanaka Tradecom International from the bank's main branch. The loan was approved by Agrani's board with the condition that supplementary collateral will be kept as security with the bank.

Tanaka Tradecom later proposed changes to the condition, which Hamid approved without the consent of the board.

Later in 2015, he rescheduled loans of the company amounting to Tk 10.79 crore -- a decision he was not authorised to make.

Serious irregularities were also committed in disbursing loans to Mizanur Rahman Mizan, a customer of Agrani's main branch, and various companies linked to the client's Sun Moon Group.

The outstanding loans now stand at Tk 300 crore and they have become risky.

An official of the BB said the central bank also found irregularities in loans given to Agrani's other clients, including Zaynab Trading of Chittagong.

The central bank inspection found that a huge amount of loans was extended to a company in Chittagong whose address was not found.

In this regard, Bakht told The Daily Star that the two bank officials involved with these loans have been suspended.

Instructions have been issued to file criminal cases against the officials and the borrowers, he added.

News:The Daily Star/1-Mar-2016

BRAC Bank launched "Planet Solutions", Bangladesh's First Energy Efficiency Financing Loan to assist readymade garments and textile industries to invest in energy efficiency technology.  The loan is targeted to the RMG & textile industry who will invest in energy efficiency technology and the Technology Service Provider Companies who provide energy efficiency solutions.  Mr. S K Sur Chowdhury, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank, and Mr. Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank Limited, formally launched the loan product at a workshop on Water & Energy Efficiency Financing organized by International Finance Corporation (IFC), at a hotel in Dhaka on February 28, 2016. Wendy Werner, Country Manager of IFC Bangladesh, Mr. Siddique Zobair, Member (EE&C), Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), were also present. IFC is providing technical assistance to BRAC Bank in launching the product.  This product will be an unsecured financing with an interest rate of 6% per annum. Entrepreneurs and the Technology Service Provider Companies will be able to avail the Planet Solution loan with Flexible loan tenors based on payback period within minimum processing time.  On the occasion, Mr. Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank Limited, "I would like to stress on the strong partnership we have developed over the years with IFC in working on Green Finance. IFC's customized and tailor-made support for BRAC Bank, complemented with their global knowledge and expertise has helped us structure, plan and launch the very first Energy Efficiency Loan product in Bangladesh. We look forward to becoming a market leader in the Green Finance space in Bangladesh."

Banks floating in excess liquidity invested more in treasury bonds in 2015 than in treasury bills (T-bills).

Higher yield rates on long-term securities provided the lure, bankers said.

However, the yield rates of both the securities saw a substantial decline during 2015 over those of the previous year.  

Aggregate investment in the treasury bonds -- officially known as Bangladesh Government Treasury Bonds (BGTBs) -- increased more than 8.0 per cent to Tk 1218.73 billion in the last calendar year from Tk 1124.81 billion a year before, according to the central bank latest statistics.

On the other hand, the banks' investment in the T-bills dropped by 30.45 per cent to Tk 292.28 billion in 2015 from Tk 420.23 billion in the previous year.

"It's a portfolio transformation of the banks," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Sunday about the switch of sides by the bankers.

The banks may give emphasis on long-term deposits than short-term ones gradually to minimise their fund mismatch, according to the central banker.

Talking to the FE, a senior official of a leading private commercial bank (PCB) said the government issued less T-bills than BGTBs in 2015.

Besides, higher interest rates on the BGTBs than that on T-bills encouraged the banks to invest more in treasury bonds than in the bills, the private banker explained. "We've invested more in the BGTBs to minimise our cost of deposits," the PCB official noted.

The yield -- generally known as interest -- on the BGTBs came down to 5.50-8.70 per cent in December last from 8.48-11.98 per cent a year ago while the interest rates on T-bills dropped to 2.90-4.20 per cent from 7.50-8.40 per cent, according to the banker.

"Such trend may continue until June," he observed.

Currently, three T-bills are being transacted on auction to adjust government borrowings from the banking system. The T-bills have 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturity periods.

Furthermore, five government bonds with tenures of two, five, 10, 15 and 20 years respectively are traded on the money market.

Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman poses with the students of a Southeast Bank Foundation scholarship programme at a city hotel on Saturday. Shahid Hossain, Managing Director and Alamgir Kabir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Southeast Bank were presen

Economic Reporter :Bangladesh Bank (BB) is going to provide loan assistance to the students for purchasing laptop with a view to facilitating modern educational system across the country, said the central bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman on Saturday. The loan rate will be very low in order to encourage the students to purchase laptop, said the governor while addressing at Southeast Bank Foundation scholarship giving ceremony among the poor and meritorious students at a city hotel. The programme was organised by Southeast Bank Limited. The governor called upon the financial institutions to spend more CSR fund among the poor, underprivileged and meritorious students for achieving the expected level of economic growth. "So many poor and meritorious students in the country are not getting proper education due to financial crisis of their family, it is very unfortunate for a nation", Atiur Rahman said.Bangladesh Bank has undertaken a good number of initiatives to resolve the social problem. Already, the central bank had instructed all scheduled commercial banks of the country to spend at least 30 per cent of their CSR expenditure to the development of country's education sector.Banks are regularly providing scholarship to the poor and meritorious students across the country. "Skilled manpower is very essential for further development of the country, said the governor. Proper education is needed for creating skilled manpower and the introduction of modern educational system would help creating skilled manpower, said the governor.Bangladesh Bank Governor appreciated the role of Southeast Bank for their contribution for the development of country's education sector. The governor expected that the bank would continue provide their financial assistance for the development of country's education sector.Shahid Hossain, Managing Director of Southeast Bank presided over the ceremony. The Managing Director has underscored the need for improving country's educational system with a view to attaining a sustainable economy.Considering the necessity of education for all, the bank has introduced scholarship programme for the poor, underprivileged and meritorious students across the country. So far, the bank has distributed Tk 8 crore to the students since 2010, said Southeast Bank Managing Director Shahid Hossain. The bank plans to provide more scholarship in future as part of their corporate social responsibility, he also added.Alamgir Kabir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Southeast Bank Limited was the special guest.A senior Bangladesh Bank official told The New Nation that the central bank earlier plans to provide loan at 4 percent interest rate on easy terms for the students of college and universities under a re- finance scheme to purchase laptop for acquiring knowledge by using ICT. Central bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman has taken the initiative at the request of Information and Communication (ICT) Division, which has launched a number of training projects. "If we can give loan at 4 percent interest rate to the farmers on cultivating spices including onion, garlic, ginger why not the same interest rate could be given for the students to purchase laptop," said the official.