The state-owned BASIC Bank Limited opened its 67th branch at Jorarganj in Chittagong fully on online facilities.

Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, Chairman, BASIC Bank Limited, inaugurated the branch as chief guest on Saturday, said a press release.

Fazlus Sobhan, Managing Director, BASIC Bank Limited, presided over.

Deputy Managing Directors, general managers, high officials of the bank and other local elites were present at the function.

While speaking Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, Chairman of the bank said deposit of the bank is fully secured because the bank is cent percent state-owned. 

Bangladesh Bank (BB) in a circular has ordered scheduled bank to maintain cash reserve requirement (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) separately from February 1, 2014.

The BB has taken the decision as per Bank Company Act (Amended) 2013, said the circular issued by the monitory policy department of the central bank.

From February 1, 2014, all scheduled banks will have to place the SLR of the current account after deducting 6.0 per cent as CRR. The conventional banks have to maintain with the BB the SLR at 19 per cent, including the CRR.

The banks are also allowed to maintain the CRR at 5.50 per cent on the daily basis, but the bi-weekly average has to be 6.0 per cent. 

The central bank has laid out agent banking guideline with a view to creating an enabling environment for commercial banks to offer financial services to a new customer base

 Bangladesh Bank published the guideline yesterday, said a circular.

The guideline will be ensuring safety, security and soundness of the proposed delivery channel to permit banks to be engaged in agent banking

. Agent banking will allow an agent to provide limited scale banking and financial services to the underserved population through engaged agents on behalf of a bank under a valid agency agreement. Agents’ activities will be within normal course of banking business of the scheduled banks but conducted at places other than bank premises and ATM booths.

The services may include collecting small amount of cash deposits and processing cash withdrawals, handling inward foreign remittance disbursement, facilitating small value loan disbursement and recovery of loan installments,

facilitating utility bill payments and cash payments under the social safety net programme of the government. The agent may also generate and issue mini bank statements, sell crops and provide other insurance services. Customers will not be charged directly by the agents for the services as banks will be paying reasonable fee to its agents for the services provided.

   An agent will be eligible for the agreement after meeting some requirement and must provide its services in a designated business premises, according to the guideline.

The agents will also need to ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism standards set by AML/CFT rules and regulations.

The guideline comes under the article 74(e) of Bangladesh Bank Order 1972, section 45 of Bank Company Act 1991 and section 4 of Bangladesh Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2009.

The purposes of these guidelines are to provide regulatory framework for agent banking. 

Md. Habibur Rahman, Managing Director, Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited, speaks at the inaugural session of a three-day training course at Al-Arafah Islami Bank Training and Research Academy on Sunday. 

A three-day training course on “Induction Course on Islamic Banking” organised by Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited concluded on Monday.

Earlier, Md. Habibur Rahman, Managing Director of the bank inaugurated the course as chief guest at Arafah- Islami Bank Training and Research Academy (AIBTRA) on Sunday, said a press release.

Md. Zahid Hasan, Principal of AIBTRA was also present on the occasion.

Bangladesh Bank has re-fixed minimum period for term-deposits to financial institutions at three months.

Previously, the minimum period for the deposits was six months.

The re-fixing comes to prevent funding crisis in the financial institutions, said a Bangladesh Bank circular issued on Sunday.

The circular said the depositors were previously allowed to have premature encashment after completion of six months of deposit.

After re-fixing, the premature encashment can be done after three months, it said.

“Financial institutions are going through funding crisis. To help them recover from such situation, the period for term-deposits has been re-fixed,” said Mahfuzur Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Bank. 

News:Dhaka Tribune/02-Dec-2013