Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited Friday organised Business Development Conference for Chittagong North and South zones. Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman of the bank spoke at the function as chief guest.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director of the bank presided over the programme.

Md. Nurul Islam and Syed Abdullah Mohammad Saleh, Deputy Managing Directors, Rafi Ahmed Begh, Mohammad Monirul Moula and Mohammad Amirul Islam, Executive Vice Presidents and Md. Kamal Uddin Jasim, Senior Vice President and head of Business Promotion and Marketing Division attended.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/03-Nov-12

Rezaul Karim

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The rate of cancellation of import-related letters of credit (LCs) has increased significantly because of disagreement between importers and exporters and volatility in prices of the commodities/items on the global market, official sources said.

Profit earning of banks from LCs has shrunk due mainly to scrapping of a large number of import document in the recent times, they said.

"Most of the LC cancellations occurred due mainly to faulty agreements and loopholes in conditions agreed upon by the buyers and the sellers," an executive director of the central bank told the FE on Wednesday.

The LCs for import of items worth US$ 2558.42 million were cancelled in 2011-12 fiscal, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) data showed.

Such cancellations were worth $1881.88 million in the 2010-11 fiscal.

The LC cancellations increased by 26.44 per cent in the last fiscal over that of the previous one, according to the BB statistics

"If a large number of LCs were not cancelled by importers and exporters, the respective banks would get the service charges against the LCs. Such service charges would have helped the banks to earn more profit. Since the opposite is happening, the banks' profit from the area is declining," the foreign exchange branch manager of a private bank told the FE.

A number of LCs against various items were also cancelled because of the drastic fall in the prices of commodities in the international market, officials said.

The cancellation of LCs increased last fiscal year owing to the ongoing financial meltdown across the world, a BB high official said.

The LCs for consumer goods worth US$ 256.93 million were cancelled in the fiscal 2011-12.

The BB officials, however, expressed concern over the rising trend in the cancellation of LCs of essential items, saying that the rate of cancellation may go up further in the near future if the prices of the same continue to fall.

The LCs for intermediate goods worth US$ 126.98 million, industrial raw materials worth $1164.91 million, petroleum and petroleum products worth $158.28 million, capital machinery worth $205.81 million, miscellaneous industries worth $244.27 million and others worth 401.25 million were cancelled in the fiscal 2011-12, the BB data showed.

Besides, the LCs for importing goods worth US$ 205 million were cancelled in July-August in the current fiscal.

The BB official said the increased cancellation of LCs might create pressure on the supply situation of commodities in the local market.

"The consumers are not getting any benefit from the declining trend in prices of commodities on the global market due mainly to the lack of proper monitoring by the government," a PCB (private commercial bank) official added.

News: The Financial Express/Bangladesh/02-Nov-12

DHAKA, NOV 1: Almost all the state-owned banks and specialised banks are in deep financial trouble as their risk based assets are piling up day by day, officials said.
Indicators of financial health of the banks are negative, observed a Bangladesh Bank (BB) report recently sent to the bank and financial institution division under the finance ministry. The four state owned banks are Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali, and four specialized banks --Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank ( RAKUB) and Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd (BDBL).
The financial pain faced by those banks is because of their rising default loan, capital deficits, mismanagement and irregularities, analysts said.
The BB recently wrote to the finance ministry to take necessary measures for bringing the troubled banks back on track.
Otherwise some of banks might be turned to ‘problem banks,’ said a BB official.
Default loan of the banks are ballooning every day, which is a matter of serious concern and if this trend continues, the banks might face a higher risk, he said.
As of June, 2012, Sonali Bnak’s default loan stood at Tk 858 crore, Janata’s Tk 295 crore, Agrani’s Tk 374 crore and Rupali’s Tk 137 crore respectively, according to a BB report.
During the period, the rate of their rising default loans was 15.45 per cent but the central bank had asked earlier the banks to bring such rate below 10 per cent.
Loan recovery is more depressing in the state-owned banks.  As of June, 2012, Sonali Bank recovered Tk 186 crore, which is only 27.13 per cent of the loan recovery target set by the BB.
Like wise, during the period Janata Bank recovered Tk 143 crore, which is 48.48 per cent of the loan recovery target, Agrani Bank Tk 136 crore, which is 35.71 per cent of the loan recovery target and Rupali Bank Tk 22 crore, which is only 17.84 per cent of the target.
According to BB statistics, risk based assets of Sonali Bank stood at Tk 35,457 crore in 2012 from Tk 23,345 crore in 2009, Janata Bank Tk 33,021 crore from Tk 1,095 crore from, Agrani Tk 20,855 crore from Tk 9,179 crore, Rupali Bank Tk 11,933 crore from Tk 5,662 crore. 
Default loan of BDBL recovered Tk 9.43 crore against its total default loan of Tk 310 crore as of June , 2012, said the statistics. 
Total risk based assets of RAKUB stood at Tk 3,435 crore as of 30 June, 2012 from Tk 3,117 crore in the same period a year ago. Its accumulated losses was Tk 503 crore as of June 30, 2012 from Tk 432 crore a year ago and its 217 out of total 369 branches  incurred losses, it said.
BKB’s risk based assets stood at Tk 19,221 crore as of 30 June, 2012. Its accumulated losses was Tk 2,747 crore as of June 30, 2012 from Tk 2,600 crore recorded in June 30, 2011. Its 185 out of total 985 branches incurred losses. From 2015, the banks will have to maintain capital as per Basel III requirements. Given the rise in loan defaults in state-owned banks, they would face many challenges to meet the Basel III requirements, said a BB official.
“Poor management is the main reason for the dire consequences faced by the state-owned banks,” said Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank.
He criticised the government for establishing a banking division, which according to him was busy transferring and promoting people.
In 2007, the then caretaker government turned Sonali, Janata and Agrani into companies so that the banks could function better. But the incumbent government in 2009 re-established the banking division under the finance ministry, which was in conflict with the company model, Ibrahim Khaled said. “The time has come to abolish the banking division; otherwise these banks will never run professionally,” said Khaled.

News: The Independent/Bangladesh/02-Nov-12

The government has rejected a proposal to give preference to persons with disabilities in availing credits under the draft Disabled Persons’ Rights Act 2012, officials said.

The Banking Division has rejected the proposal of the Social Welfare Ministry to incorporate a provision in the draft act for providing bank loans and commercial facilities to persons with disabilities.

The proposal was sent to the banking division last week for its consent, but the division said that it would not include any such provision in the draft act. The letter was signed by social welfare secretary M M Sultan Mahmud.

The Banking Division said the disabled persons will get preference for banking services but not in obtaining any discriminatory behaviour for getting credits, according to the reply sent to Social Welfare Ministry Sunday.

The draft of Disabled Persons Right Act will write that persons with disabilities will not get discriminatory behaviour for getting credit from the commercial banks instead they would be provided advantageous position in getting credits from banks, the reply letter also read.

Banking Division official also said the commercial banks would be put at risks if they disburse credits to persons with disabilities.

For this, giving loans to disabled persons under new act is not good for the country’s banking sector, he added.

The draft was placed to the cabinet for approval last July but it was sent back for further revision, cabinet sources said.

Earlier, the government enacted Disabled Person Welfare Law in 2001 which has failed to bring any progress for the development of persons with disabilities.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recent inaugural programmes of the 5th World Autism Awareness Day- 2012 at Osmani Memorial auditorium asked the corporate sector and private organisations to provide jobs for autistic and physically-challenged people to utilise their merits in nation-building activities.

Albert Mollah, Executive Director of Access Bangladesh Foundation told daily sun that it will really hamper progress of disabled persons if the provision of giving preference to disabled persons in getting credits from commercials banks is dropped from the act.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/02-Nov-12

Southeast Bank Limited opened its 87th branch at Kamrangirchar in Dhaka recently.

MA Kashem, founder chairman of the bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest, said a press release Thursday.

Mahbubul Alam, MD, Mohammed Gofran and Shahid Hossain, AMD, S M Mainuddin Chowdhury and Muhammad Shahjahan, DMD, SM Morshed, Head of Kamrangirchar Branch, Donald Rossette, Head of Corporate Marketing Divi- sion, businessmen, industrialists, customers, educationists and local elites were present at the function.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/02-Nov-12