BRAC Bank Limited organised a Strategy Session titled “All for One, One for All” to lay out its strategic roadmap for business growth for the years 2016-2018 at BRAC CDM in Savar. 

Selim R.F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank Limited, and senior management officials of the bank attended programme.

The US EXIM Bank has expressed its readiness to help the US companies remain competitive in bidding on renewable energy projects as Bangladesh is seriously looking for alternative energy sources to meet spiralling demand.

"As Bangladesh looks to invest in major renewable energy projects, we at EXIM Bank will be there to make US companies competitive in bidding on these projects," says visiting Chairman of the bank Fred
P. Hochberg in an article circulated by the US Embassy in Dhaka.

Hochberg, now in Bangladesh on a two-day visit, in his article on Bangladesh visit titled 'The Bangladesh Opportunity' says it is their job to reduce the risks of entering foreign markets so US business can partner with Bangladeshi customers to unleash big opportunities.

The government in Bangladesh has announced serious renewable energy plans, focusing their efforts on solar and wind energy technologies.

The EXIM Bank Chairman is visiting Bangladesh as part of his first international trip in 2016.

Explaining why he has chosen Bangladesh, Hochberg said Bangladesh’s growing economy and rising consumer demand make it a place where US businesses want to compete.

"US companies are especially interested in helping Bangladesh meet its ambitious infrastructure investment goals with sustainable 'Made-in-the-USA' quality goods and services", he says.

The Bank Chairman said EXIM can continue providing US businesses with the backing they need to compete effectively for the great opportunities Bangladesh has to offer.

" I look forward to building on relationships old and new with my colleagues and friends in Bangladesh and across South Asia so that together we can shape a bright future for the middle class and deliver on our shared responsibility to the next generation," his article reads.

Acknowledging competition as tough one, Hochberg said competitive financing can be a catalyst for getting Bangladesh the high-quality American goods and services that can propel the country’s economy
forward.
"We want US businesses to be competitive in this promising market,” he says.
The chairman says they are proud of aircraft, machinery, satellites, and power equipment that US companies produce, and those are “the safest, cleanest, and most durable in the world”.

During his visit, he will meet with economic, government, and business leaders to assure them that the Export-Import Bank of the United States is here to assist American firms compete for business in Bangladesh.
In 2011 and 2013, he says, the EXIM Bank of the United States financed more than $500 million to help the cash-troubled Biman Bangladesh Airlines acquire four Boeing 777-300ER long-range passenger aircraft.
"Bangladesh’s economic expansion means greater demand for long-range flights that are safe, cheap, and fuel-efficient. Biman’s new Boeing jets will help meet that demand," the article reads.
Since US President Obama took office, EXIM Bank has supported over $650 million in US exports to Bangladesh-more than under any previous administration, he mentions.
"And I see more opportunity for investment in the future. Here lies the Bangladesh opportunity: with a growing middle class, we know that Bangladeshis want to buy American-made planes, train cars, and power plants-and that US businesses want to deliver them," he writes.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said it will take time for state-owned Sonali Bank and Basic Bank to regain their previous positions in the banking sector as they have experienced several unpleasant incidents.

“There’re some problems in these government-owned banks. Several robbery incidents have taken place in Sonali Bank while some high officials of Basic Bank looted huge money from it,” he said.

The minister was addressing the Annual General Meeting 2016 of Janata Bank Ltd at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city, UNB reports. 

Muhith said Janata Bank is relatively in a better position among other state-owned commercial banks.

Dismissing the allegation that Bangladesh has excess commercial banks, the minister said the number is not as many as per the total number of the country’s population.

Despite having around 9,000 branches of all banks in the country, many people still remain out of banking service, Muhith told the function. “Some 13 crore people out of 16 crore are economically solvent and live above the poverty line. So, the demand for internal loan is increasing day by day.”

However, the government has entered into an agreement with state-owned commercial banks a few years back to strengthen the positions of financial organisations, he said.

The Finance Minister also said Bangladesh has been able to keep its GDP growth rate above 6 percent amid worldwide economic slowdown which is very important for the country’s economic stability.

Bangladesh also has good contributions to international business, the minister added.

Managing Director (MD) of Janata Bank Adbus Salam said his bank has earned Tk 1,162 crore as profit in 2015 against the target of Tk 1,100 crore and collected Tk 800 crore default loans in 2015.

The number of loss-making branches of the bank has come down to 35 which were 60 in 2014, Salam added. 

The bank has set a slew of targets for 2016, including making a profit of Tk 1,350 crore, financing Tk 16,500 crore in export sector and Tk 16,000 crore in import, making a deposit of Tk 63,000 and disbursing Tk 38,500 as loan and advance.

Transactions rose 53pc last year

Mobile banking in Bangladesh continues to grow fast, scaling a new height last year with 53 percent growth year-on-year.

In 2015, the industry saw Tk 157,773.31 crore in transactions through mobile phones -- the amount being more than half the country's national budget, according to a report of Bangladesh Bank.

In 2014, the mobile banking industry saw Tk 103,155.37 crore in transactions.

People are becoming increasingly comfortable with the banking platform, analysts said.

The average monthly transactions made through mobile phones stood at more than Tk 13,147.77 crore last year, rising from Tk 8,596.28 crore in 2014.

“In the last couple of years, we have observed that people at the bottom of the pyramid are also massively taking part in economic activities and that volume is increasing significantly every day. This contribution directly impacted the transactions in mobile banking,” said Subhankar Saha, a BB executive director.

The central bank said the volume is quite natural and there is scope for further growth.

aha, who is also the BB spokesperson, said they are expecting more than 30 percent growth in 2016.

The central bank plans to strengthen security measures this year, Saha added.

“There are about 3.19 crore mobile banking accounts and this figure will increase in the coming days; the total volume of transactions will also rise,” he said.

Of the total accounts, only 1.25 crore are active users, according to the BB report.

People are mainly using this modern banking channel to transfer money domestically.

But the opportunities to use this channel to deposit government fees and charges and make purchases are yet limited, he said. Last year, the sector saw Tk 27,879.56 crore in person-to-person money transfers, and the amount was only 17.67 percent of the total transaction. The figures for business transaction, salary disbursement, and bills payments were also nominal.

Saha said entrepreneurs have to work in these areas.

However, the market leader in mobile financial services -- bKash -- said customer-centric products along with the trust and confidence of common people have helped the sector grow.

“Besides fund transfer services, we are offering 'buy airtime' for mobile top-up, merchant payments at shops, salary disbursement and different collection solutions for corporate customers, which have contributed to our growth,” said Zahedul Islam, the spokesperson for bKash.

Earlier in a report USAID said Bangladesh has a rapidly growing mobile financial service industry, accounting for more than 8 percent of the total registered mobile money accounts globally.

The country launched such products in 2011 and in five years, the market hit the highest position in the world so far.

Currently, 28 banks have approval for offering mobile financial service although 20 launched operations so far. Two leading operators hold around 90 percent market share.

Police in Vietnam have arrested three senior former bankers and six securities officials over a fraud worth millions of dollars at a partly state-run bank, government media reported Wednesday.

The arrests are the latest scandal to hit the ailing banking sector, which authorities have vowed to clean up after years of bad debts.

The fraud was alleged to have taken place at MHB Bank, which has since been merged into the larger fully state-run Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, state media said.

Two of those detained were MHB Bank's former chairman and its CEO, People's Police newspaper online said.

All nine are accused of "abuse of power and rights when performing public duties", punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

The detainees allegedly used capital from the bank to trade in government bonds and shares for their own profit, the report said.

"Investigators found their acts caused losses of millions of dollars to state capital," it added.

The report did not say when the arrests were made. The officials were sacked from their posts before being taken into custody.

Vietnam's economy in 2015 grew at its fastest pace in five years boosted by strong exports, record foreign investment and buoyant domestic consumption.

But economic progress is vulnerable due to high public debts, huge but inefficient state-owned enterprises and rampant official corruption.

Communist Vietnam has been struggling for years to clean up its vast state-run sector.

After the collapse of state shipping giant Vinashin in 2008, the government ordered all state enterprises to divest from non-core investments, but many have still not complied.

There have been a string of recent high-profile arrests of wealthy businessmen and executives over allegations of corruption, embezzlement or incompetence.

In July last year police arrested the former chairman of state oil giant PetroVietnam over mistakes that allegedly led to the loss of a $38 million investment in Ocean Bank. The troubled lender had been taken over by the government after being rocked by a major scandal of its own.

Ocean Bank's former chairman, Ha Van Tham, once one of Vietnam's richest businessmen, is now in detention, pending trial for violations of lending regulations, including approving millions of dollars of loans without proper collateral.