Md Mukhter Hossain, Additional Managing Director of SIBL, inaugurates an ATM booth of the bank in Barisal Friday.

Md Mukhter Hossain, Additional Managing Director of the bank, inaugurated the ATM booth, said a press release.

This booth will provide 24-hour cash withdrawal facilities to all VISA cardholders of the bank.

The bank has taken an initiative to continue expanding its ATM network throughout the country. Meanwhile, Barisal branch of SIBL organised a discussion on “Mahe Ramadan” at a local hotel in the city.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/  13th Aug 2012

Sheikh Abdul Hai Bachchu, Chairman of BASIC Bank Limited, inaugurates a branch at Shyamoly in Dhaka Sunday.

The 52nd branch of BASIC Bank Limited was inaugurated at Shyamoly in Dhaka Sunday.

Sheikh Abdul Hai Bachchu, Chairman, Board of Directors of the bank formally inaugurated the branch, said a press release.

Kazi Fakhrul Islam, Managing Director of the bank presided over the function, while Jahangir Akand and Shubhashish Basu, Directors and Kanak Kumar Purkaistha, Deputy Managing Director were present.

Chairman told the audiences that the bank was established for not only to earn profit but also to serve the people during humanitarian crisis.

Managing Director said the bank already opened seven branches this year and will open 20 more branches after getting Bangladesh Bank’s permission. The bank has been extending 50 percent loans to small and medium range industries, he added.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/  13th Aug 2012

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Sunday specified the titles of bank accounts for collection of donations for construction of Padma Bridge.

In a circular, the Banking Regulation and Policy Department (BRPD) has issued the instructing all scheduled bank branches to open a Collection Account titled “Voluntary Donation for Construction of the Padma Bridge (Resident)” to collect endowment in local currency.

And, the foreign or Authorised Dealer (AD) branches of all scheduled banks will open a Collection Account titled “Voluntary Donation for Construction of the Padma Bridge (Non-Resident)” to collect endowment in foreign currency from non-resident Bangladeshis.

Last week, the central bank issued a principal circular detailing directive for banks on opening the bank accounts for collection of donations for the bridge project.

The Sunday’s circular reads that all banks will provide this service without any service charge for the public interest.

All funds in local and foreign currency collected through the scheduled banks including Sonali Bank Ltd will be deposited to local office of Sonali Bank Ltd.

Local Office of Sonali Bank Ltd will open and maintain two bank accounts titled “Voluntary Donation for Construction of the Padma Bridge (Resident)” for local currency deposit and “Voluntary Donation for Construction of the Padma Bridge (Non-Resident)” for foreign currency deposit.

Sonali Bank will transfer the deposited endowment of those accounts in due process regularly to two different codes allotted by the government under Government Account No 1 maintained with Bangladesh Bank, the circular reads.

Non-residents may remit endowment to the AD branch of any scheduled bank through

any overseas bank or exchange house operated abroad. If any non-resident wants to donate in Bangladeshi Taka, then he or she may deposit to the Resident Account.

The local, principal or head office of the banks will consolidate their collections in those accounts at branch level and deposit and transfer the total fund to the concerned account in local office of Sonali Bank Ltd within the next week following the end of each month, the circular reads.

To ensure proper monitoring, each bank will submit a monthly statement on the

Deposited and transferred fund to the concerned account in local office of Sonali Bank Ltd to Banking Regulation and Policy Department and a copy to Executive Director of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/  13th Aug 2012

Swiss banks hoping to atone for decades of complicity in tax evasion may be left to sweat it out for months as the United States and Germany ponder the right level of punishment.

Switzerland has long dodged US accusations of hiding money for wealthy Americans. But now eleven Swiss banks are under investigation in the United States and there is pressure too from Europe where burdened taxpayers want scalps after numerous banking scandals. The Swiss need a deal to remove the taint from their financial industry.

However, Washington must factor forthcoming elections into its thinking, and Germany is delaying ratification of a tax deal key to Switzerland's efforts to strike similar agreements elsewhere in Europe. So the Swiss may be in limbo for a while.

The wait is painful for a country which counts on banking for 7 percent of its economic output: until Swiss banks know how much information they need to share with foreign tax authorities they will struggle to attract new clients.

As a result the share prices of its top banks -- Credit Suisse and Julius Baer are among those being investigated -- are falling as investors fret about earnings.

"We are prepared to sign a settlement with the US for the Swiss banks today. We feel we have made a constructive proposal to the US but it is up to them to accept it or not," said Switzerland's Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

"This depends on whether the US is willing to reach a settlement before or after their elections, which is unclear at the moment," she said.

Both Widmer-Schlumpf and chief negotiator Michael Ambuehl have dampened expectations for a US deal by November, stoked as recently as last month by the finance minister herself.

"There is an open window after the summer lull, but it's relatively tight. Otherwise, I think we're looking at next year," said Martin Naville, chief executive of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce in Zurich.

Switzerland's efforts to spur along a deal include tentatively agreeing with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, an anti-tax evasion law known as FATCA.

The rules on enforcing FATCA have yet to be finalised, but many Swiss bankers see it as a crippling blow that effectively prevents their clients from investing in US securities.

Acquiescing to FATCA was a tactic to build goodwill for a Swiss bank deal, a source close to the talks said.

But the strategy doesn't seem to be paying off.

Washington is now pushing banks in Switzerland to divulge names and financial details of wealthy Americans hiding money in their accounts, spurred on by success in 2009 when UBS handed over data to avert a criminal indictment.

"Contrary to what may appear as inactivity, the US is in fact keeping the pressure on Swiss banks, which are like mice before a snake," said Martin Janssen, professor of finance at the University of Zurich. "The US is really maximising its position here."

The tension is such that Swiss bankers are afraid they will be personally targeted by U.S. officials if they leave the country, after Credit Suisse and Julius Baer handed over employee names to US authorities.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/  13th Aug 2012

Banks will remain open on Thursday in Dhaka and other areas where garments factories are concentrated, Bangladesh Bank said in a notice yesterday.

Banks are also allowed to open all or specific branches on Saturday, ahead of the Eid festival.

The branches of all commercial banks in Dhaka, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna and Chittagong will remain open from 9:30am to 12:30pm on Thursday, to help garments industries pay wages and allowances to its employees, the central bank said.

A long holiday starts Aug 15, to be capped by Eid celebrations in Bangladesh on Aug 19 or a day later.

“Some of our branches will remain open to serve the garment industry,” said Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Pubali Bank, admitting the BB circular in this regard.

Banks will reopen on August 22.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/  13th Aug 2012