Like as BASIC Bank, other state-owned banks, especially Sonali Bank should also decide to slash salaries of their top officials to ease financial trouble in the scam-hit sector, said a high government official.
“BASIC decided to take away some part of high management’s salaries. We hope other state-run banks, especially Sonali Bank will also do the same,” M Aslam Alam, Secretary to Bank and Financial Institutions Division, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
He said the monthly salary of Sonali Bank MD Pradip Kumar Dutta is Tk4 lakh while previous MD Md Humayun Kabir would receive Tk8 lakh.
In support of his suggestion, the secretary cited the salary cuts of CEOs of financial institutions in the United States during 2008 global recession.
BASIC Bank management decided to forfeit some portions of their salaries as the bank faced financial crisis.
Recently, Bangladesh Bank reminded Sonali Bank of paying other banks’ bills it accepted in favour of Hall-Mark Group.
Hall-Mark took Tk2,686 crore from the Sonali Bank’s Ruposhi Bangla branch in Dhaka during 2010-12 period through anomalies.
Of the amount, more than Tk1,200 crore was non-funded loans against the bills it consented to pay in future.
The bank delayed the payments as it waited for the ACC probe outcome. The anti-graft body later declined to investigate the bank’s non-funded loans.
Sonali Bank was involved with an astounding Tk3,500 crore loan forgeries with Hall-Mark Group.
News:Dhaka Tribune/19-Sep-2014