Bangladesh Bank on Monday said authorised dealer branches of the scheduled banks would not need to take prior approval from the central bank to remit foreign exchange as maintenance fees for proprietary and specialised software to service providers abroad.
To this end, the BB issued a circular to the AD branches of all banks saying that they (AD) would have to take approval from the central bank when they would remit foreign exchange to purchase software but no prior approval would be required in case of maintenance fees.
A BB official told New Age on Monday that the central bank had taken the initiative as part of its liberalisation programme of the country’s foreign exchange regulation.
Due to the latest initiative, the AD branches would not be required to take prior approval from the BB to remit foreign exchange abroad against maintenance fees for their clients’ software.
Banking
MAINTENANCE FEE FOR SOFTWARE: Banks require no prior BB nod to send forex to service
BB allows students going abroad to carry $500
Bangladesh Bank on Monday decided to increase the limit of foreign currency a student can carry while going abroad for studying to $500 from $200.
The BB raised the amount by $300 for every foreign trip by students studying overseas institutions.
To this end, the BB issued a circular to authorised dealer branches of all scheduled banks saying that the students would be able to bear $500 in every foreign tour if he or she conducts his or her study with a foreign educational institution.
A central bank official told
New Age on Monday that the central bank had revised the transit
expenses for students as the previous amount was very tiny in the present context.
The BB in 2009 set the forex limit for students at $200.
The BB earlier doubled foreign exchange quota to $10,000 a year for business travel.
UCB reelects chairman
MA Hashem has recently been reelected as the chairman of United Commercial Bank, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
He is also the chairman of Partex Group, founder life member of NSU Trust and member of NSU Board of Trustees, member of IBAIS university trustee board and former member of the parliament.
He is also an advisor of Janata Insurance Company Ltd and the founder of MA Hashem Degree College, kazirhat, Noakhali.
UCBL selected for Best Emerging Markets Banks in Asia-Pacific
United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) has been selected for the World’s Best Emerging Markets Banks in Asia-Pacific in an exclusive survey to be published in the May 2014 issue of Global Finance magazine.
Global Finance editors—with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants—selected the best emerging markets bank in the region and in 30 countries.
Criteria for choosing the winners included growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing, and innovative products. In addition, for the first time, a poll of Global Finance’s corporate readership was conducted in order to increase the accuracy and reliability of the results, according to a message received here on Monday.
This is the twenty-first year that the magazine has selected top banking performers in emerging markets. The report covers best banks in Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
“Faced with slowing growth and volatile markets, these banks are star performers under increasingly challenging conditions,” said Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance.
BB frames draft outsourcing guideline for banks to cut risks
Bangladesh Bank has framed a draft guideline on outsourcing policy for scheduled banks in a bid to mitigate their (banks) risks.
According to the central bank’s draft guidelines, banking institutions throughout the world are increasingly using third parties (outsourcing) as a means of both reducing costs and achieving strategic aims.
When these third-party service providers conduct significant parts of the bank’s regulated and unregulated activities, it may impact on the ability of banks to manage their risks and monitor their compliance with regulatory requirements, the guideline said.
Against the backdrop, the central bank has taken initiative to bring the banks under a guideline for their outsourcing activities, a BB official told New Age on Sunday.
The central bank has already issued a letter to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks asking them to send their opinion on the draft guideline, he said.
The banks usually receive services from third party for different type of business like credit card, SME service centre, mobile banking, consumer credit, and to develop their information technology and set up new software.
According to the guideline, the banks will have to develop a comprehensive outsourcing policy duly approved by their board of directors.
The policy will select the banking activities which will be conducted by the outsourcing parties.
The board has overall responsibility for ensuring that all ongoing outsourcing decisions taken by the bank, and activities undertaken by the third parties, are in accordance with its outsourcing policy, the draft guideline said.