Bangladesh has still been continuing to receive highest remittance from Saudi Arabia while the Middle-East remained to be the main source of foreign remittance.

According to Bangladesh Bank statistics, Bangladesh received a total of $13.877 billion in remittance in last 11 months of the fiscal year 20914-15, with $3.025 billion coming from Saudi Arabia alone, reports UNB.

 During the period, an amount of $8.249 billion came from Middle-East region while $5.628 billion from the rest of the countries in the world.

 The remittance from Saudi Arabia is followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) as Bangladesh received $2.578 billion from the Gulf nation.

Kuwait has been the third largest remittance sending nation for Bangladesh as it received $981.06 million from this another Gulf nation.

 Among the other Gulf nations, expatriates in Oman sent $834.05 million, while those in Bahrain $506.71 million, Qatar $281.33 million, Libya $41.97 million and Iran $0.14 million.

 Among the other nations outside the Middle East, expatriate Bangladeshis in the USA sent the highest amount of remittance of $2.141billion outside the Gold nations. The USA is followed by Malaysia which sent $1.251 billion in 11 months of 2014-15.

 The expatriate Bangladeshis in UK sent $727.19 million, while that of Singapore $408.22 million, Italy $231.75 million, Australia $56.28 million, South Korea $55.03 million, Germany $19.12 million, Japan $14.73 million, and Hong Kong $17.77 million.

  All the other nations outside this list sent $704.66 million in remittance during the outgoing fiscal year.

Govt to pay $660.5m in five equal instalments over five years

NRB Global Bank introduced NGB VISA Credit Card Thursday to facilitate its clients with secured and quick modern banking services in and outside the country.

Chairman of the bank Nizam Chowdhury said the newly- introduced VISA Card is very safe and secured for transaction, and the cardholders will be able to avail its services across 200 countries.

Mr Chowdhury was speaking at the launching ceremony in the capital as chief guest. He said this VISA card is designed with special protection aginst forgery, which has become a major concern across the world.  

Targeting various sections of people, including students, service holders and farmers, the bank authorities have introduced the service in four categories styled Platinum, Gold Duel, Gold Local and Gold Classic.

The bank's chairman hoped that the card will get quick popularity among the people shortly as they will charge lower interests for transaction. He said they are committed to providing unique and world-class banking services for their clients.

He, however, noted that the country lacks qualified workforce to provide such world-class banking services. The chairman said the NGB cardholders will get a widespread useful services including e-ticketing.  Following the VISA card launch, the bank also introduced its some other retails and SME products, including NGB Perfect, Queen, Deposit Double, Junior, Travel, Ad hock, Festival and NGB Krishan.  

Managing director of the NRB Global Bank Md. Abdul Quddus, additional managing director Golam Sarwar, deputy managing director RQM Forkan and Kazi Mashiur Rahman Jayhad, head of retail division Mohammed Morshedur Quader Khalili and company secretary JQM Habibullah, among others, were present at the launching function.

The central bank has spared state-owned BASIC Bank of obligations to maintain provisions against its Tk 45 billion default loans, reports bdnews24.com.

According to BASIC Bank financial report-2014, the Bangladesh Bank had given it the 'special waiver'.

The report said the central bank had given BASIC the opportunity to keep Tk 19.33 billion in block account without keeping any provision for next 10 years.

 It said another Tk 23.64 billion and Tk 1.37 billion could be kept in two other accounts without maintaining provision for five years.

Keeping provision for default loans is mandatory for banks. The central bank fixed the rates of provision based on the type of the default loans.

Banks have to maintain 100 per cent provision for bad loss.

Bangladesh Bank officials said they offered the waiver to help the Basic bank, which is facing allegations of widespread corruption and irregularities, to recover from its present state.

Central Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury told the news agency: "The waiver to BASIC Bank on provision has been given within the law."

How would the bank recover from its present condition without the waiver, he questioned.

Experts in the banking sector said the Tk 45 billion loans would be excluded from the bank's credit figure following the central bank decision.

They called the waiver unprecedented in the banking history of Bangladesh and said it would invite loss even to BASIC Bank.

Irregularities were discovered in BASIC Bank's disbursement of Tk 46 billion loans when Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu was the chairman and Kazi Fakhrul Islam the managing director.

The managing director was removed and the chairman stepped down amid the allegations.

Their involvement in the irregularities was proved in probe.