BRAC EPL Investments Ltd plans to introduce social and sustainable investment banking solution in Bangladesh, the company said in a statement recently.

The company's chief executive officer, Khaled Y Farazi, has recently visited the head office of Triodos Bank at Zeist in Netherlands to learn more about sustainable social investment banking practices pioneered by Triodos Bank and to explore foreign funding for Bangladeshi enterprises, the statement added.

The Dutch bank and the sister concern of BRAC -- a development organisation -- exchanged ideas, shared knowledge and vowed to work together in these regards.

BRAC EPL plans to lead the way in Bangladesh market in terms of promoting and establishing the concept of sustainable social investment banking. The company also looks forward to roll-out new business lines which will propagate sustainable social investment banking locally.

News: Daily Sun / Bangladesh/ July-13-2011

Javed Kureishi, Citibank’s head of global subsidiaries group (GSG) for Asia pacific, arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day official visit.

He is scheduled to meet important clients and government officials during the visit, said a press release.

Kureishi is responsible for the relationship coverage of subsidiaries of multinational operating in 15 countries, covering network of 9,000 clients in Asia. The GSG has a team of 250 people.

He spent 26 years with Citi in a number of senior management position in the international division. Prior to his current role, Kureishi was the chief operating officer for Citi’s businesses in the Middle East.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ July-13-2011

AB Bank yesterday approved 10 percent cash and 15 percent stock dividend for its shareholders for the year 2010.

The approval was given at the 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. M Wahidul Haque, chairman of the bank, presided over the AGM, said a press release.

The AGM also approved the annual report and the audited accounts of the bank for the year 2010 showing a consolidated PAT of Tk 3.99 billion.

The bank's net profit in 2010 grew by 17 percent over the last year. Net Asset Value (NAV) stood at Tk 14.15 billion in 2010 which is 38 percent higher than 2009. Earning Per Share (EPS) of the company was Tk 124.47, 40 percent more than last year.

Deposit of the bank rose by Tk 11.70 billion, and the diversified loan portfolio grew by Tk 24.67 billion. Foreign business transactions by the bank totaled to Tk 132.44 billion in 2010, marking a growth of 37 percent.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ July-13-2011

Bangladesh Bank (BB) will start providing online information of its Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports to banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) from July 19, which will make faster the lending services and will eventually cut the cost of doing business. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman will inaugurate the online service at the central bank’s headquarters in the capital city, bringing an end to the manual, time consuming and cumbersome process of sharing the important credit information among banks and financial institutions.
All the 47 banks and 29 NBFIs of the country will be able to collect the online CIB reports on July 19 and onwards. The banks and financial institutions would also be able to collect the CIB reports from the central bank physically if they want, the central bank officials said.
“This is a part of the continuous process of digitizing the central bank and the country’s banking sector to ensure efficient, faster and transparent services to the people,” Dr Rahman told BSS today. He said the online service will make the CIB reports only a click away, which now takes five to seven days.
The report, however, used to take at least three months before Dr Rahman was made the governor. The governor said the faster CIB reports would cut the cost of doing business when the banks, NBFIs and respective persons would get it without going to the persisting hassles and longer time-frame. “The Election Commission (EC) and other government organizations and agencies can also get necessary information to determine whether any particular person is a loan defaulter or not,” he said, observing that this convenient and accurate information would help combat credit related corruption.
Besides, Dr Rahman said the central bank would ensure better use of its manpower after introducing the online CIB reports as only five to seven staff can handle the entire system whereas few hundred people are now doing the jobs. The governor said the huge manpower, which is now busy in handling over 5,000 CIB reports every month, would be use their skill in other necessary services of the central bank.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ July-12-2011

The central bank has moved to pursue banks to cut the interest rate for 270 sick garment companies to 8 percent from as high as 15 percent, an official said yesterday.

Of the 8 percent interest rate, 5 percent will be paid by owners and the rest will be subsidised by the government, said Jahangir Alam, an executive director of Bangladesh Bank.

Alam spoke to reporters after a meeting between BB Governor Atiur Rahman and leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at the central bank office in Dhaka.

“Owners of troubled garment companies will be able to get loans by paying a flat 8 percent interest rate,” Alam said. “It will help the companies recover from deep losses.”

Of the 270 companies, 88 owe money to private commercial banks and 182 to the public commercial banks.

Alam did not however mention the accumulated amount of outstanding loans by garment owners or subsidy to be paid by the government or how much the government has written off.

Urged by the garment exporters at the meeting, the governor agreed to increase the Export Development Fund (EDF) from the existing $400 million. The new EDF is yet to be disclosed.

The central bank will also reduce the export proceed time from an existing 120 days, so that the money comes into the country fast. Alam said a $2 billion export bill is yet to come to the country because of a long proceed time.

BB said it will also clarify the meanings of some words in the circulation of the second stimulus package, which has already been awarded to the ready-made garment exporters to offset fallout from the global recession.

Alam said the garment exporters are yet to get the funds from the second stimulus package for some ambiguous words in the circulation of the stimulus package. But the central bank agreed to clarify the meaning of those words, so they can easily get the money.

BGMEA President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said the garment owners cannot yet take loans from the central bank because of stern conditions, such as construction of dormitories for garment workers to resolve accommodation problems.

The government should take steps that the new entrepreneurs feel encouraged to invest in the garment sector, Mohiuddin said. He also demanded low-cost funds so that the factory owners construct effluent treatment plants.

News: Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ July-12011