Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd has rolled out virtual cards for individual app developers and programmers, solving the difficulties they face when making international transactions online. 

A virtual card has an annual card limit of $300.

The amount can be used to pay for games, software licence, mobile and games application development, vendor certification exam fee, domain registration, hosting, cloud service and hackathon on online market places such as Windows, Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Firefox.

Sayem Ahmed, chairman of DBBL; KS Tabrez, managing director of the private commercial bank; and Shameem Ahsan, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, inaugurated the service at a press conference at the Westin hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, Ahsan said individual app developers and programmers have been facing troubles for not having the payment service in Bangladesh.

BASIS has been negotiating with Bangladesh Bank for a long time to take the necessary steps to this effect.

The BB directed banks to issue virtual cards in 2014 to facilitate international payments online.

“We hope the initiative will mitigate the hazards the individual developers and programmers were facing during online international transactions,” he said in a statement.

Ahsan said the first step on the path to the app stores is to register as a developer in order to get started with app development.

Global debit card system is essential to facilitate the payments for app store registration fees and domains, and participation at boot camps and courses offered by different international organisations on apps development.

As per directive from the central bank, BASIS will verify whether an applicant meets the criteria of being a developer or programmer.

BASIS will then authorise the authentic applicants to be issued the virtual cards.

To get the cards, applicants will have to show the certificate provided to participants during programmes on mobile apps, games and hackathons run by BASIS or the ICT Division.

Initially, BASIS members used to enjoy the service. But now it is open to students, IT professionals and entrepreneurs, according to the association.

Ahsan hopes the youth will now be encouraged to join IT-related professions.

DBBL has started the service at all of its branches, said officials of the bank.

BASIS Senior Vice President Russell T Ahmed, Secretary General Uttam Kumar Paul and Director Suny Md Ashraf Khan were also present. 

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has invested more than Tk 131 crore to hold 5 percent of local City Bank's shares.

The IFC will pay Tk 28.3 for each share, which includes a premium of Tk 18.3.

Rubel Aziz, chairman of the City Bank; Sohail RK Hussain, managing director of the bank, and Wendy Jo Werner, country manager of IFC, signed an agreement in this regard at the capital's Westin Hotel yesterday.

The City Bank, which is a first generation private bank, has applied to Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and other relevant regulatory authorities for approval of the equity sale to the IFC.

The IFC provides debt, equity and guarantee products in sectors, including financial markets, infrastructure, agribusiness and manufacturing to help enhance employment opportunities, fuel growth and spur innovation.

The IFC's equity investment ranges between 5 percent and 20 percent of a company's shares, according to its website.

It said equity investments provide developmental support and long-term growth capital that private enterprises need.

The corporation also invests directly in companies' equity and also through private-equity funds.

In the fiscal year ended on June 2015, equity investments accounted for about $3.2 billion of commitments IFC made for its own account.

Bangladesh Bank in a recent inspection unearthed that Agrani Bank disbursed Tk 136.83 crore in loans to a Chittagong-based non-existent company named M/S Zaynab Trading Co without taking adequate mortgage from it. The state-run bank disbursed Tk 24.76 crore as cash credit (hypothecation) and Tk 112.07 crore to settle liabilities of letters of credit in favour of Zaynab Trading. The Asadganj branch in Chittagong of the bank processed the sanctioning and disbursement of the loans. The BB investigation team conducted the inspection between January 10 and January 13 of this year. The central bank’s inspection report said Agrani Bank’s managing director and chief executive officer Syed Abdul Hamid was directly involved in the financial irregularities. The inspection team recommended taking stern action against the bank’s managing director due to his involvement in the scam. The BB report said the office of Zaynab Trading was supposed to be located at Khatunganj in Chittagong, but the central bank team did not find the company’s office on a spot visit. According to the BB report, Hamid also took a decision to shift the Asadganj branch of the bank to a building owned by the managing director of Zaynab Trading, violating rules and regulations. No bank managing director is allowed to take decision on relocation of a branch of his/her bank in line with the BB circular as such type of decision must be taken by the board of directors with approval from the central bank. Abdullah Mahmud is managing director of Zaynab Trading and his wife Raiyan Peare Nahas is chairman of the company. The bank also sanctioned loans amounting to Tk 81 lakh without imposing any interest to Abdullah by showing as advanced rent payment for the branch. The new location of the bank branch is supposed to be at Khatuganj in the Chittagong city but no infrastructure of the company exists there, the BB report said. The BB report said the board of Agrani Bank had sanctioned loans amounting to Tk 25 crore as CC (hypo) and revolving LC limit of Tk 40 crore on February 8, 2014 in favour of Zaynab Trading on the basis of a number of conditions. The company, however, failed to implement the conditions but the managing director of the bank renewed the LC limit and the CC (hypo) loans for one year more on August 20, 2015. According to the Agrani Bank credit risk guidelines, the bank’s managing director is allowed to sanction or renew maximum amount of Tk 1 crore in loan. But, Hamid violated the bank’s guidelines renewing the huge amount of loan, the BB report said. Zaynab Trading opened deferred LCs worth $47.36 lakh on August 23, 2015 to import Canadian whole yellow peas from Canada crossing the LC limit renewed by the bank’s managing director. After three days, the company increased the LC worth to $93.84 lakh to import peas, the BB report said. The BB inspection team asked the bank’s branch to show the company’s depot of the imported peas, but the officials of the bank failed to do it. Before opening the LCs, Zaynab Trading opened another LCs worth $37 lakh on April 23, 2015 to import peas from Canada. But, the company did not make payment against the LCs to the bank in due time, the BB report said. The bank took an initiative to receive foreign loans amounting to $39.09 lakh in favour of Zanab Trading from Dubai-based Mashreq Bank to adjust the worth of the LCs. The report said that the bank should create demand or term loan to adjust the worth of the LCs. Agrani Bank gave bank guarantee to the loan violating the rules and regulations as any bank has to take prior approval from the BB to give bank guarantee to a foreign loan, the BB report said. The bank informed the BB team that the company gave mortgage of 185.50 decimal of land against the loans. The inspection team, however, found that the original mortgage amount was only 33.59 decimal of land. Besides, the ownership of the land was flawed. The inspection report said that S and M Trading was an associate company of Zaynab Trading. The owner of S and M Trading is Ruhia Khanam who is mother of Abdullah, managing director of Zaynab Trading. S and M Trading have an overdue loan of Tk 112.07 crore with Bank Asia and Al-Arafah Islami Bank. Of the loan, Tk 7.64 crore entered into the defaulted zone. Abdullah gave the guarantee against the loans. The defaulted guarantors are not allowed to take fresh loan from the banks in accordance with the BB’s policy, but Agrani Bank gave loans to Abdullah, the BB report said. Moreover, Zanyb Trading has recently proposed taking a fresh loan amounting to Tk 185 crore to Agrani Bank. Agrani Bank managing director Zaid Bakht told New Age on Tuesday that the bank had already suspended two officials of the Asadganj branch due to their alleged involvement in the scam. The board also directed to file criminal cases against Zaynab Trading and officials involved of the bank, he said. Asked whether the board would take any measure against Hamid, he said that the bank had started an investigation into the matter. Despite repeated attempts, Hamid could be reached over mobile phone.sthash.

Economic Reporter :Bangladesh Bank (BB) Tuesday launched an e-library aiming to put in the central bank library with technology and develop it international standard. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman formally inaugurated the e-library, as chief guest while Bank and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Dr M Aslam Alam, among others, was present on the occasion.  Rahman said library has an important role to research and the central bank library is a gathering place for the readers as it has many uncommon books. The central bank library is international standard and it will provide all necessary support to the readers, he added. Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena M Razi Hasan presided over the inaugural ceremony.

Zabed Amin has recently joined NRB Commercial Bank as deputy managing director, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Prior to joining NRB Commercial Bank, Amin has been serving City Bank as senior executive vice president and head of business, according to the statement.

Amin started his banking career with ANZ Grindlays Bank and has since worked with Standard Chartered Bank and Brac Bank.

He holds a masters degree in English from Chittagong University.