S M Shameem Iqbal, Vice Chairman, Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd, speaks at the 18th AGM at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka Tuesday.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd approved 17 percent dividend in the form of bonus share for the year ended on 31 December, 2012.

The approval was given at the 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka Tuesday, said a press release.

Prior to that, the 16th Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held at the same venue and same date.

The EGM approved a proposal to raise Authorized Capital of the Bank from 1,000 crore to Tk 1,500 crore, subject to approval of regulatory authorities. The meeting presided over by Jb. Badiur Rahman, Chairman, Board of Directors of the Bank.

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Badiur Rahman

Badiur Rahman will continue as the chairman of Al-Arafah Islami Bank for the sixth time, said a press release. 
The 240th meeting 
of the Board of 
Directors on Tuesday unanimously reached this decision.
Badiur will remain the chairman of the bank until the next annual general meeting is held, the release added.

Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday extended the time limit by one month and fifteen days for the textile mills, which were affected by purchasing high-priced cotton, to submit applications seeking cash incentive.

The central bank issued a circular to authorised dealer branches of all commercial banks saying that the owners of the textile mills under the Bangladesh

Textile Mills Association would be allowed to submit applications for cash incentive in 45 days from the ‘issuing date of this circular’.

The government earlier announced five per cent cash incentive to the textile mills like spinning, weaving, dying-finishing mills,

under the BTMA, which were affected by the volatile global cotton prices between August 2010 and March 2011.

The BB circular also imposed some new conditions to get five per cent cash incentives.
It said that the imported cotton had to be used in export-oriented textile and textile products to get the incentive.

The textile mills will not get incentive if they took tax bond and duty-drawback facility for any materials of their exported products, it said.

The textile mills of the BTMA will not get the cash incentive if they supplied their products to any organisations of the export processing zone.

The textile mills will get the facility if they supplied their products made by high-valued imported cottons to the exporter organisations through local letters of credit,

back-to-back LCs and documentary collections.

The BB in its circular also warned the banks that it would take punitive action if any bank perpetrated irregularities in giving the incentive.
The central bank will
deduct the money of cash incentive from the commercial banks’ account with the BB if the banks disburse the incentive illegally to the millers.

The BB also warned that punitive action would be taken against the alleged banks’ officials who involve with the crime, the central bank circular said.

The BB asked the banks to preserve all documents relating to the cash incentive at least for three years from the disbursement of the cash incentive

date as the central bank’s inspection team and the department of government commercial internal audit would examine the documents.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, Managing Director and CEO of Eastern Bank Ltd, handing over a cheque to Md. Saidul Huq, Executive Director, BERDO to help visually impaired students of the organisation.

Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) has donated five computers and a cheque for Tk 100,000 for the education of visually impaired students of Blind Education and Rehabilitation Develo- pment Organisation (BERDO).

Ali Reza Iftekhar, Managing Director and CEO of Eastern Bank Ltd.

 United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) organised a special meeting on 'Non-performing Loans (NPL)' at UCB Head Office in Dhaka recently.

Muhammed Ali, Managing Director of UCBL presided over the meeting, said a press release Tuesday.

Status of various 'non-performing loans' and measures of recovery of 18 branches were discussed in the meeting.