Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide 15 million USD (Rs. 1570 million approx.) grant assistance from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) to Nepal for the Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihood Restoration for Earthquake Affected Communities Project.

Lok Darshan Regmi, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of Nepal Residence Mission, ADB signed the grant agreement today in the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank, respectively. The objective of the Project is to help restore the disrupted livelihoods and schooling in the poor and severely earthquake-affected communities, and strengthen their resilience against future disasters. The JFPR is a fund set up by the Government of Japan and managed by ADB. Japanese ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa and Tsutomu Shimizu, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal Office were also present at the signing ceremony.-Asfar  

Economic Reporter :Md. Anwar Hossain elevated to the rank of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shahjalal Islami Bank Securities Limited (SJIBL) recently.Anwar has completed B.Com (Hons.) and M.Com in Accounting and MBA in Finance and Banking. In 2007, he joined SJIBL as Junior Assistant Vice President as well as the In-Charge of its Capital Market Services Division. Prior to joining SJIBL, he was Vice President and In charge of Green Delta Financial Services Ltd. In his long professional carrier, he designated vital position in different renowned financial institutions. He holds many responsible management positions with actively and assiduously contributed to the growth and development of the company by playing substantial role. His insight, aesthetic sense and visionary leadership combined with profound knowledge led to continuous growth in every organization he worked for.

Headmaster of Bangladesh Bank Adarsha High School Mostafa Kamal , First Security Islami Bank Motijheel Branch Operation Manager Mohammad Mostafa and SureCash Manager Md. Shafiqul Islam pose at the agreement signing ceremony recently in the city.

Bitopi Das Chowdhury, Country Head of Corporate Affairs of Standard Chartered Bangladesh seen holding the \"Bank of the Year\" award alongside officials from The Bankers at the recently held Grand Gala Award Ceremony in London.

Scam-hit BASIC Bank has dismissed four of its top officials on grounds of financial irregularities.

The troubled bank sent dismissal letters to the four officials yesterday, according to the bank. 

Of them, three are deputy managing directors and one general manager.

The DMDs are: Fazlus Sobhan and Md Ruhul Alam, who were posted in the bank's headquarters, and Md Salim, who was based in the regional recovery office in Chitta-gong. The dismissed general manager, Mahbubul Alam, was posted in the headquarters.

Sobhan had been the acting managing director of the bank for over six months after the central bank fired the bank's then managing director Kazi Faqurul Islam in May last year on charges of irregularities.

The bank is now going through reconstruction under a new board of directors led by Alauddin A Majid.

The four officials were involved in approving Tk 49.5 lakh by violating the bank's rules.

The money was meant to be spent to fight a legal battle filed last year by the bank's two aggrieved officials, who alleged that the state bank promoted Alam and Salim to the position of DMD unlawfully. The lawyers' bill was Tk 39.4 lakh, meaning the officials pocketed over Tk 10 lakh.

“As per the service rules of the bank, the board of directors has decided to take punitive measures (dismissal) against these officials,” said a letter sent to the dismissed officials.

The bank authority has sent another letter to the heads of all divisions at the headquarters and all branches across the country informing them of the four officials' dismissal. Earlier, Bangladesh Bank investigations detected massive financial irregularities involving around Tk 4,500 crore of loans in three branches of BASIC Bank between 2009 and 2013.

More than 50 percent of the loans have already become bad, throwing the bank into acute capital shortage.

Loan frauds, committed through direct involvement of the previous board headed by Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and some of its top executives, took place in the Dilkusha, Gulshan and Shantinagar branches of the bank.

Of the fired DMDs, Sobhan and Alam were close aides of Bacchu. Alam was promoted to the post of DMD within one year of his joining the bank as a deputy general manager, BASIC Bank officials said.