Bangladesh Bank has asked Prime Bank to refund the undertaking money its mobile banking service solution provider SMG Infocom Ltd collected from 2,500 jobseekers by May 30 as the bank was responsible for the fraudulent act, said BB officials. According to a BB inspection report, SMG Infocom, appointed by Prime Bank to operate its mobile banking Easy Cash, received Tk 25 crore-Tk 30 crore as undertaking money from the successful candidates for the job, using tricks. On May 14, the BB issued a letter to the managing director and chief executive officer of Prime Bank saying that the bank was aware of the act when SMG infocom was receiving the undertaking money from the jobseekers by using the Prime Bank’s logo. The BB earlier conducted an inspection of the mobile financial services of Prime Bank where the central bank had unearthed that SMG Infocom recruited around 2,500 people to operate mobile banking services of Prime Bank. The solution provider took huge amount of money from them as undertaking, using tricks, the BB inspection report said. The report said that SMG Infocom had closed its operation immediately after the recruitment leaving 2,500 jobless but it had not refunded the undertaking money to the appointed. A BB official told New Age on Thursday that SMG Infocom had received between Tk 50,000 and Tk 2,50,000 from each person as undertaking money. The solution provider had assured the jobseekers that it would refund the undertaking money to them after recruitment, the official said. The BB inspection report said SMG Infocom had not returned the undertaking money to the appointed, violating the commitment and it also closed its operation. The BB letter said that the stance of Prime Bank in this case was not correct as it had said that SMG Infocom did not use the Prime Bank’s logo. The BB letter said, ‘Prime Bank earlier issued two separate letters to the BB in which the bank admitted that it was informed about the SMG Infocom’s recruitment from across the country by receiving undertaking money from jobseekers.’ Detective Branch of Police also informed Prime Bank about the SMG Infocom’s fraudulent act, the letter said. Prime Bank could prevent the fraudulent act if it had taken immediate measures by taking help from the central bank and law enforcement agencies, it said. ‘But, Prime Bank failed to take measure in this regard. So, the bank could not deny the responsibility of SMG Infocom’s improper action,’ the letter said. On April 7 this year, the BB issued a show-cause notice to Prime Bank to explain in five working days why the central bank would not cancel no-objection certificate it provided the private commercial bank to run mobile financial services for misappropriating a huge amount of money from 2,500 job seekers. In reply to the show-cause notice, Prime Bank denied its involvement with the fraudulent, the BB official said. The BB, however, has not accepted the Prime Bank’s reply and its MFS licence is under cancellation threat, he said. Prime Bank managing director Md Ehsan Khasru could not be reached on Thursday for his comment as he was in the United States.

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman has said Asian Clearing Union needs to deepen further the regional trade and economic integration for inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth. He termed the ACU member countries as a significant collective global growth hub. ‘We, ACU member countries, are already collectively a significant global growth hub, we can heighten this significance much further by deepening regional trade and economic integration in pursuit of inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth,’ said the governor while speaking at the ACU board of directors meeting at Kish Island in Iran on Friday. He hoped that the ACU continues to retain relevance as a useful regional cooperation platform, with its technical committees active in reviewing and bringing up revision suggestions on ACU rules and procedures to enhance transaction efficiency and to sort out settlement bottlenecks or differences of opinions as they arise from time to time. About the Bangladesh economy, Atiur said the economy was maintaining a stable growth impetus as investment and import growth had picked up momentum from the beginning of 2014, boding well for economic growth acceleration going forward. ‘Besides, the solid gains in macroeconomic stability, Bangladesh is progressing well also in social development indicators . . . quite a few of the main poverty reduction and human development MDGs have been attained well ahead of time line, while remaining well on course for attaining the others,’ he said. He said Bangladesh’s GNI per capita has crossed the lower middle income country group threshold by close of FY13. The governor said Bangladesh economy in 2013 maintained stable growth momentum despite facing some spells of unusually disruptive blockades and hartals (strikes) in political unrests in the run up to national elections, besides other lingering uncongenialities like tepid recovery in global growth and infrastructural inadequacies impeding investment growth. ‘The economy came through all these odds with remarkable resilience, holding on to six-plus per cent real GDP growth trend with inflation around seven and a half per cent, fiscal deficit under four per cent of GDP, narrowing trade deficit, healthy balance of payments current account surplus and foreign exchange reserves cover around six months’ import requirement,’ he added. ‘Bangladesh’s steady and stable socioeconomic progress owes much to the government’s commitment to inclusive, sustainable socioeconomic growth; proactively supported by Bangladesh Bank’s initiatives of ingraining a socially responsible financing ethos in the country’s financial sector,’ the central bank governor said. He said Bangladesh’s increasing external openness was reflected, as elsewhere, also in the 2013 data on ACU transaction settlements. Her trade settlements with other ACU member trade partners increased by 8.77 per cent in 2013 even as total ACU intraregional trade settlements declined by 7.53 per cent that year, he said. Atiur said Bangladesh’s imports from other ACU members increased to $4,920 million in 2013 from $4,450 million of 2012 while exports to other ACU members declined to $113 million in 2013 from US$ 176 million of 2012. But Bangladesh’s exports to the rest of the world sustained double digit growth rate in 2013, and we would love to see rising trend in our exports to the ACU region, the governor added. To this end, Bangladesh would welcome investors from regional partners in establishing cost efficient manufacturing bases in Bangladesh producing for local regional and global markets, he said, adding that it is heartening to see the beginnings of easing of US sanctions on engagements with Islamic Republic of Iran, a big impediment holding back flourishing of ACU intraregional trade and investments. The governor expressed his optimism about fully exploiting ACU’s unrealised potential in deepening trade and investment integration in our region. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/13961/atiur-for-deepening-trade-ties-among-acu-members/#sthash.AWgv5zsU.dpuf

The central bank yesterday asked all scheduled banks operating in Bangladesh to assign 5 to 10 district level officials who will act as mentors to develop ICT entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Bank in a notice said it has taken the decision as part of a recommendation by the post, telecoms and ICT ministry.
On April 24, Nazrul Islam Khan, ICT secretary, wrote a letter to the BB governor, informing him about the government's effort to implement a project on freelancers.
Five to 10 bank officials at the district levels will help freelancers by mentoring them to become ICT entrepreneurs, according to the notice.

Dhaka- Mercantile Bank Limited and United Hospital Ltd. signed a Corporate Medical Services Agreement on Tuesday, reports in a press release. Under the Agreement the employees of Mercantile Bank Limited will enjoy corporate medical services at the United Hospitals Dhaka on priority basis.
Mohammad Masoom, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank and Dr. Dabir Uddin Ahmed, Director, Clinical Operation of United Hospital Ltd. signed the Agreement on behalf of their organizations. Additional Managing Director & CFO Monindra Kumar Nath and senior executives of both institutions were also present on the occasion.

Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) is committed to reach its services towards doorsteps of the farmers in general for elevating their living and livelihood condition, reports BSS.
Besides, the bank is working for bringing all the existing agricultural potential sectors and sub-sectors under qualitative and quantitative investments for making the region’s agro-based economy more vibrant. 
Board of directors of the bank made these  observations in 411th meeting held at its board room Rajshahi on Tuesday with Chairman Prof Dr Shah Newaz Ali in the chair, RAKUB sources said.
RAKUB, headquartered in Rajshahi, has been operating its banking activities as the largest development partner in all 16 northwest districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions targeting its agricultural sector and all its sub-sectors. 
The meeting noted that the bank’s administrative and operational activities must be transparent and accountable alongside farmers-friendly for boosting agricultural production. For the sake of sustainable livelihood development of the farmers and for bolstering the agro-based economy, the meeting called for increasing the need-based credit flow.
The meeting approved the balanced sheet and profit-loss accounts of 2012-13 fiscal and discussed elaborately on how to make the bank’s operational and commercial activities more dynamic through strengthening the credit support for both farm and non-farm prospective fields.