Economic Reporter :Md Feroj Khan has joined state owned Palli Sanchay Bank as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) recently. Prior, he was GM of Bangladesh Krishi Bank. He started his career in the same bank in 1982 as class one Officer (Senior Officer). He obtained B.Com. (Hons.) in 1978 and M.Com in Management from Dhaka University in 1979.He held important positions in his chequred banking life of 3 decades.  He took part in the various trainings, seminars and symposiums held at home and abroad. He is a Diploed Associate of the Institute of Bankers bangladesh and  life-member of  Dhaka University Alamni Association. He hails from  a respectable Muslim family of Tangail district.

Muhammed Ali, Managing Director of United Commercial Bank Limited and Lt.Gen Masud Uddin Chowdhury, ndc, psc (Retd), Managing Partner of Picasso Restaurant signing agreement on which UCB Cardholders and Imperial Customers of UCB will enjoy 15% Discount an

Economic Reporter :United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) recently signed an agreement with Picasso Restaurant at the corporate office of the Bank. Under the agreement UCB Cardholders and Imperial Customers of UCB will enjoy 15% Discount and other benefits at Picasso Restaurant. Managing Director of UCB Muhammed Ali and Managing Partner of Picasso Restaurant Lt.Gen Masud Uddin Chowdhury, ndc, psc (Retd) signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.Among others Executive Vice President and acting Head of Retail Business of UCB Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman; Vice President & Head of Cards business of UCB Nehal A Huda along with others senior officials of both the organizations were present at the event.

Economic Reporter :Over 70 percent of money from the SME refinancing scheme had been disbursed to small entrepreneurs when more than 90.0 percent of the recipients of the loan were small investors, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB).Refuting media reports that the major portion of the SME loan was given to big borrowers, the central bank in a statement on Tuesday disclosed data, showing 70.65 percent of the total loan, disbursed last year, went to the small investors.BB said that banks and financial institutions in 2015 disbursed a total of Taka 789 crore 97 lakh among 4,455 borrowers. Of the total amount, Taka 557.43 crore was given to 4,375 entrepreneurs who borrowed Taka 10 thousand to 1 crore. On the other hand, Taka 232.54 crore was disbursed among 80 entrepreneurs who borrowed Taka over 1 crore.

EUROPE'S largest bank HSBC informed the financial markets on Monday it would remain headquartered in Britain, rejecting a move to Hong Kong despite concerns about increased regulation in the UK.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation said in a note to the London Stock Exchange following a board meeting on Sunday that London's many advantages meant it was "ideally positioned" to provide a home base.

"Having our headquarters in the UK and our significant business in Asia Pacific delivers the best of both worlds to our stakeholders," group chairman Douglas Flint told BBC radio.

It made no reference to growing fears in Hong Kong that the city's freedoms are being eroded by an increasingly influential China, a trend observers say could damage its status as a freewheeling finance hub.

The bank began its review of where to put its headquarters in April last year, two weeks before a British general election, amid growing calls for a crackdown on a sector seen by many voters as feckless.

It also cited as a reason for the review the British bank levy introduced in 2010 -- a tax based on the size of any British-based banks' global balance sheet which has since been scaled down.

A British finance ministry spokeswoman said the decision was "a vote of confidence in the government's economic plan and a boost to our goal of making the UK a great place to do more business with China and the rest of Asia".

The final choice had been between Britain and Hong Kong, although the review had also reportedly considered Germany and the United States.

The decision will come as a relief to the City, where bank stocks have suffered this year and there is growing concern about uncertainty from a referendum on Britain's EU membership expected this year.

"London is one of the world's leading international financial centres and home to a large pool of highly skilled, international talent," the bank's statement said.

"It remains therefore ideally positioned to be the home base for a global financial institution such as HSBC," it said, adding that the board decision was "unanimous".

Investors cheered the news, with HSBC's share price rising 1.27 percent at the start of trading to 446 pence and other bank stocks also rallying.

The bank's Hong Kong-listed stock rising also rose more than four percent at closing.

"This decision is a big vote of confidence in the UK," a spokesman for the British Banking Association trade body said, underlining that banking is "an internationally mobile industry".

"We cannot afford to be complacent about the contribution banking makes to the British economy, a sector that employs over half a million people".

The Confederation of British Industry's director-general Carolyn Fairbairn also said that banks were "critical for the British company".

"HSBC's thorough review and consideration of other international financial centres emphasises the need for the UK to continuously stay competitive on regulation, tax and talent," she said.

But John Thanassoulis, professor of financial economics at Warwick Business School, said HSBC's move raised the question of whether "the balance is pushed too far towards the banks".

"Systemic risks can materialise quickly," he said.

While the uncertainty may have counted against London, slowing growth in China -- for which Hong Kong acts as an important gateway -- has made the former British colony less attractive in recent months.