Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) has declared cash dividend at 40 per cent for general public shareholders and foreign sponsors and shareholders for the year 2011. It, however, excludes local sponsors.

The dividend was approved at the 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank on Monday at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, says a press release.

Chairman of DBBL Foundation and the Bank’s founder chairman M. Sahabuddin Ahmed, executive committee chairman Sayem Ahmed, directors, Md. Fakhrul Islam, Dr. Irshad Kamal Khan, Dr. Syed Fakhrul Ameen, Chowdhury M. Ashraf Hossain, managing director K S Tabrez and company secretary Md. Monirul Alam FCS were also present.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 20th March 2012

Zainul Haque Sikder, Chairman of National Bank Limited, presides over the 29th AGM of the Bank at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city yesterday.

National Bank Limited has declared 65 percent stock dividend for its shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2011.

The approval was given at the 29th Anuual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank held at Bangabandhu Internat ional Conference Center in the city yesterday.

Zainul Haque Sikder, Chairman of the Bank presided over the meeting. A large number of shareholders attended the AGM, said a press release.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 20th March 2012

Mohammed H Rashid, Executive Vice President and CFO of Placid Express and MA Yousuf Khan, Deputy Managing Director of Mercantile Bank Ltd, exchange documents after signing an agreement in the city recently.

Mercantile Bank Limited recently signed an agreement with world renowned money transfer company Placid Express.

M A Yousuf Khan, Deputy Managing Director of Mercantile Bank Limited and Mohammed H Rashid, Executive Vice President and CFO of Placid Express signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations, said a press release.

AKM Shahidul Haque, Managing Director and CEO and Md Abdul Jalil Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director of Mercantile Bank Limited, among others, were present.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 20th March 2012

Encouraged by Bangladesh Bank (BB) and largely untapped potentials, country’s commercial banks this year will focus more on rural areas to open their branches, bringing in a major and first time switchover in expanding their businesses. Some 19 commercial banks this year got the central bank’s nod to open 168 branches across the country, of which 85 will be in the countryside, leaving lower number of 83 for cities and towns, according to BB.

“More branches in rural areas will offer banking services to a large number of people who have been deprived of institutional financial services for years,” Governor Dr Atirur Rahman told BSS.

The governor, who has been driving the central bank in many ways towards achieving inclusive growth, believes expansion of rural banking will propel growth by bringing in a huge number of people under banking and financial services.

“The rural banking will also help control inflation with injecting more money in the banking system from the people who otherwise invest or keep their savings in mostly non-productive sectors, a major cause of inflation,” he said.

Last December the central bank decided that banks should open equal number of branches in rural and urban areas, which was four urban branches for opening one in villages as per earlier directive of BB, issued in 2006.

“We have changed the ratio of rural and urban branches to make banks going rural instead of concentrating their business and services in cities and towns,” Dr Rahman said.

Defining the rural and urban areas, BB Executive Director for the Banking Regulation and Policy Department Naushad Ali Chowdhury said the areas under city corporations and municipalities are considered as urban areas. So, he said, the branches outside city corporations and municipalities will be treated as rural branches.

Prime Bank got permission for opening the highest 12 branches for 2012 after the Bank got top position in CAMELS rating. The central bank offered the banks open new branches as per their CAMALS rating. Some other performances were also considered for the banks that got three and lower rating under CAMELS.

CAMELS is an international bank-rating system where bank supervisory authorities rate institutions according to six factors including Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management quality, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risk.

Eleven banks got permission for opening 10 branches each. The banks are Pubali Bank, Islami Bank, National Bank, UCBL, Southeast Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Al- Arafa Islami Bank, Mercantile Bank, Premier Bank, Mutual Trust Bank and Bank Asia.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 20th March 2012

Mutual Trust Bank Founding Chairman Syed Manzur Elahi speaking at a workshop on corporate governance for sustainable banks attended by directors and chairman of leading private sector Banks Sunday. Zuber Soomro, former head of Citi Bank NA, Pakistan, K Mahmood Sattar, CEO of Citi Bank, Barrister Sheela Rahman, and Pradip Kar, former Head of Securities and Exchange Board of India, also spoke at the workshop. Shireen S Mainuddin, Managing Director of ASAAN, moderated the workshop held at the Westin Dhaka.

Financial Express/Bangladesh/ 19th March 2012