The cabinet has approved the draft of the ‘Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2015’ empowering the Bangladesh Bank to seek information on any overseas assets owned by local and expatriate Bangladeshis. The draft also proposes to seek information about assets of foreign citizens living in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Bank will be given the power to seek information on any overseas assets of Bangladeshi citizens wherever they reside and foreign nationals living in Bangladesh, cabinet secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting. The approval of the draft was given at the weekly meeting of the cabinet held at the Secretariat on Monday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The cabinet thanked the Indian government and its citizens for clearing the long-pending land boundary agreement. The cabinet also congratulated three Bangladeshi-origin British citizens for being elected members of parliament in the UK general elections. The cabinet secretary said that the draft act would make easier for foreign exchange agencies and foreign companies for opening branches or liaison offices by waiving the existing mandatory provision of taking Bangladesh Bank’s prior permission. The Board of Investment will issue the permission, and Bangladesh Bank will be informed in this regard within 30 days, he added. At present, permissions are required from both the BoI and BB to set up such offices. The updated draft included new provisions for currency transaction by Bangladeshi citizens and foreign citizens living in Bangladesh to regulate the purchase and sales of foreign currencies and securities. The law also proposed for empowering Bangladesh Bank to impose fine against the foreign exchange dealers in case of violation of the law. A committee headed by an Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank prepared the proposal for the law reviewing the existing laws of other countries, particularly of neighbouring ones. Earlier on January 12, the Banking and Finance Division under the Ministry of Finance placed the draft law. On that day, the cabinet approved in principle the draft law with some observations. The Banking and Finance Division on Monday again placed the draft law before the cabinet incorporating the cabinet observations. The cabinet also in principle approved the draft of ‘The Rabindra University Law, 2015’ aimed at preserving the memory of Bishwakabi Rabindranath Tagore as well as pursuing study and practising and carrying out research on his works. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on May 8 laid the foundation stone of Rabindra University at Shahjadpur, Sirajganj. The cabinet secretary said that not only the language and literature of Kabiguru will be practised at the university there would also be other disciplines of learning including arts, music, dance, fine arts, sociology, agriculture, cooperatives, law, business administration, science and engineering technology. ‘It is natural, the focus will be on arts, music, dance and fine arts, but there would be specific focus on creation and philosophy of Rabindranath,’ he added. 

News:New Age/12-May-2015

Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury, Managing Director of Pubali Bank Limited, and other high officials are seen at the ‘1st Managers’ Conference-2015’ of Khulna region of the bank at a local hotel in Khulna recently. 

Pubali Bank Limited has organised the First Managers’ Conference-2015 of Khulna region of the bank at a local hotel in Khulna recently. The main objective of the conference was to motivate the managers to increase bank’s business by rendering better services, said a press release. Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury, Managing Director of Pubali Bank Limited, was present at the programme as the chief guest. Mohammad Ali, General Manager and Chief Technical Officer of Pubali Bank, attended the function as special guest with RM of Khulna region General Manager Md Humayan Kabir in the chair. He stressed the selection of potential borrowers and advised to enhance bank business on recovery of overdue, classified and write- off loan on priority basis.

News:Daily Sun/12-May-2015

Two specialised banks grapple with Tk 6,814cr in classified loans.

Bangladesh Bank on Sunday asked Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank to bring down their defaulted loans below 20 per cent of their total disbursed loans within June 30 this year. The direction came from a meeting between the BB and the two state-owned specialised banks at the central bank headquarters in the capital with BB deputy governor SK Sur Chowdhury in the chair. The managing directors and chief executive officers of the two banks were present at the meeting. The meeting was held in line with the memorandums of understanding signed by the BB and the two banks. The BB usually reviews the financial performances of the banks on quarterly basis in line with the MoU. According to the BB data, the defaulted loans at BKB stood at Tk 5,372.76 crore or 32.59 per cent of its total disbursed loans of Tk 16,308.28 crore as of December 31, 2014. The defaulted loans at RAKUB stood at Tk 1,441.26 crore or 32.49 per cent of its total disbursed loans of Tk 4,449.71 crore as of December 31, 2014. A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the two banks at the meeting had given a commitment to the central bank that they would take drives to recover the defaulted loans in the quickest possible time to bring down such loans below 20 per cent by June this year. The BB asked the banks to meet their capital shortfalls by taking necessary funds from the government for recapitalisation, he said. The capital shortfall of BKB stood at Tk 6,643 crore and that of RAKUB Tk 884 crore as of December 31, 2014. The top officials of the two banks informed the central bank that they had already requested the government to provide necessary funds to meet their capital shortfalls. The BB official said that the two banks faced large volume of the capital shortfalls due to an increasing trend in the defaulted loans in the recent years. The banks would have avoided the capital shortfalls if they were able to curb their defaulted loans, he said. The central bank asked the banks to speed up their automation programme as they are lagging behind other banks in this regard. The banks will be capable of tackling corruption if they implement the automation system in their branches and that will also play a role in reducing classified loans at the banks, the central banker said.

The government plans to strip state-owned banks of the power to recruit and hire new employees and instead return the authority to the central bank.

The government plans to strip state-owned banks of the power to recruit and hire new employees and instead return the authority to the central bank. The move to re-engage the BB after more than five years into abolishing the banker’s recruitment committee, headed by the BB governor, follows after the Bangladesh Bank found gross irregularities in recruitment of new bankers in the state-controlled banks in the last five years, a senior finance ministry official said. Through empowering the BB to oversee a proposed ‘recruitment authority’ to be headed by the central bank governor, the existing separate appointment committees and interview boards of the banks concerned will be abolished, he added. Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali hired around 30,000 new officials – both first class and second class – and another about 15,000 were recruited in six other specialised banks since early 2010. ‘We will soon ask the banks to abolish all their appointment committees and interview boards,’ the senior finance official told New Age on Saturday. ‘Finance minister (AM A Muhith) will have intensive discussions soon with the chairmen and managing directors of the banks to bring about the changes in the appointment system’. BB in a recent position paper to the finance ministry recommended scrapping the existing hiring authorities of public sector banks as it found that undue pressures forced the banks’ authorities to compromise with the quality of fresh recruits. ‘The possibility of appointing qualified and fit candidates in public sector banks are getting slimmer day by day amid undesirable pressures piled on the banks’ authorities,’ reads the paper, signed by BB governor Atiur Rahman. ‘As comprises take place, lack of meritocracy keeps on hampering financial management and overall governance in the public sector banks,’ the governor added. He suggested formation of a ‘recruitment authority’ to be overseen by the BB to recruit new entrants in the banks. Since 2010, the banks’ management bodies have been recruiting employees at all levels according to recruitment rules laid down by their own boards. Former BB governor Salehuddin Ahmed said the realisation by the BB and the finance ministry on scrapping the current recruitment system in the public sector banks is praiseworthy. He said revival of bankers’ recruitment committee, headed by BB Governor, would be a burden for the BB. ‘If BB oversees the entire recruitment policy and system and engages institutions like Bangladesh institute of bank management to do the recruitment, it will make a huge difference, as the current recruitment system is plagued by corruption, nepotism and political bias,’ Salehuddin said. He, however, expressed doubt over the capacity of the finance ministry to bring real changes in the recruitment system, saying, ‘the finance ministry might not be able overcome political pressure.’ Officials concerned in the finance ministry said the new directives to scrap the existing recruitment system and introduce a BB-led recruitment committee are expected to come into affect at the soonest possible time.