Bangladesh Bank (BB) will finalise the draft amendment to the Banking Companies Act by June.

The final draft will take the major amendment process a step forward, but the fate of the much-talked about reform will depend on the active efforts of the higher authorities, a central bank official said yesterday.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith earlier told media that the Banking Companies Act would be amended by June this year to ensure more transparency in the financial sector.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance AMH Mostafa Kamal said the committee was reviewing the pros and cons of the amendment process to ensure a better legal framework for the country’s financial sector.

Referring to the government’s commitment to update the legal framework that governs the banking and financial sector, BB Executive Director Jahangir Alam told BSS that a committee of the central bank would finalise the draft and submit it to the finance ministry by June.

He said the draft would have some major reform proposals to establish more transparency and accountability, removing the room for all sorts of conflict of interests in the financial sector.

The official, however, did not want to elaborate the extent of the reform proposals.

A high official of the finance ministry said the government plans to place the final draft of the act before the parliament by the yearend.

Joint Secretary of the Finance Division Amalendu Mukherjee said the finance ministry would hold a series of meetings with stakeholders on the draft after getting it from the central bank.

Framed in 1991, the Bank Companies Act has so far been amended twice in 1993 and 1995 to make it more effective in managing the financial sector in a better way.

The caretaker government in 2007 amended the law through an ordinance, but it did not come to effect as the government later changed the mind and refrained from ratifying it

Rupali Bank has appointed Arifur Rahman, Md Wahiduzzaman Khandaker, Debasish  Chakarabarty and  Hosneara Begum as general manager of the bank, recently, says a press release. Hosneara Begum joined Rupali Bank as general manager. Prior to joining this bank as GM she had been DGM in the same bank.
Prior to joining the bank as GM Arifur Rahman had been DGM at engineering division in the same Bank.
has joined Rupali Bank Ltd. as General Manager. Prior to joining Rupali Bank as GM Debasish Chakrabarty had been DGM at House Building Finance Corporation.
Prior to joining this bank as GM Md. Wahiduzzaman  Khandaker had been DGM at Investment Corporation Bangladesh (ICB).

News: the independent/ Bangladesh/ Mar-29-2011

Shareholders of Prime Bank Limited approved the Financial Statement of the Bank for the year 2010 and declared 35 per cent stock dividend, 5 per cent cash dividend at the 16th Annual General Meeting held on Sunday at the Winter Garden of Hotel Sheraton. Azam J Chowdhury, chairman of the board of directors presided over the AGM. The AGM started with observance of one minute silence in respect of the memory of the martyrs of the Liberation War 1971. Azam J Chowdhury thanked the shareholders for their continuous support and confidence shown on the bank.
He informed that the bank continued to remain strong in all key areas of capital adequacy, asset quality, earning and liquidity. Chairman also said that the bank made satisfactory progress in all areas of its operations during 2010.
The bank earned net profit after tax (audited) of Tk 300 crore. Bank’s deposit rose to 12,452 crore at the end of the year 2010 as against Tk 10,696 crore in 2009 registering a growth of 16 per cent, while loan portfolio increased to 11,117 crore  as on December 31, 2010 from Tk 8,925 crore in 2009 registering 25 per cent growth.
The foreign exchange business volume also increased by 42 per cent to reach at Tk 28,308 crore as on December 31, 2010 from Tk 19,900 crore in the preceding year.
Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 11.69 per cent against the statutory requirement of 9 per cent at the Balance Sheet date.
The ratio of non-performing loans to total credit also remained in comfortable position at 1.23 per cent in the year 2010. Return on asset was 2.16 per cent, thus bank’s performance of 2010 may be termed as excellent in comparison to industry average.

News: the independent/ Bangladesh/ Mar-29-2011

Pubali Bank Ltd arranged a workshop titled “Revised Stress Testing” for its officers at the bank’s head office in the city recently.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Pubali Bank attended the workshop as chief guest, said a press release.

S. K. Sur Chowdhury, executive director of Bangladesh Bank, attended as key note speaker at the workshop.

SK Sur in his speech asserted that the bank officials should have a clear concept about money laundering in the competitive global banking arena.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ Mar-29-2011

Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has disbursed Tk 6.26 billion as loan to boost rural economy as well as create employment through enhancing agricultural and non-agricultural production everywhere in the country’s north-western region during the first eight months of the current 2010-11 fiscal.

Side by side with the disbursement, the bank has also realized Taka 7.23 billion including Taka 1.50 billion classified and other outstanding loans.

RAKUB Managing Director Pradip Kumar Dutta said the bank has set a target of disbursing Taka 1140 crore as loan and recovery of Taka 11.68 billion including Taka 6.58 billion classified loan through 365 branches in all the 16 districts of the region.

He said the present government has earmarked the huge money for RAKUB for disbursing as crop and rural uplift loan only in the northwest Bangladesh during the current fiscal and we are very much positive to attain the disbursement target. To build a poverty- free Bangladesh, he said the bank has enhanced its lending activities in multipurpose potential fields for boosting agriculture production, intensifying food security and flourishing poultry and dairy sectors to reduce protein deficiency.

Pradip Dutta said Taka 2.86 billion for crops, Taka 97.7 million for fisheries, Taka 373.9 billion for livestock, Taka 87.6 million for farm-machinery, Taka 266.8 million for small and medium enterprise, Taka 106.1 million for agro-based industry and Taka 213.4 million for poverty alleviation were disbursed during the same period.

Besides, he said, the bank has also disbursed Taka 38.0 million loans on two per cent interest rate for boosting production of different import dependent crops like pulse, oil-seed, spice and maize in the region.

Some 1.345 million poor and marginal farmers are getting all the government subsidy facilities after opening account of Taka 10 with the RAKUB branches and they are enjoying extra benefit on the both the credit and deposit.

“We have adopted special credit program for encouraging the people for setting up solar power, biogas and waste purification plant for generating eco- friendly and alternative power to face the power supply deficit,” he said adding that credit is being extended to the sector on a priority basis.

As the largest development partner in agriculture as well as agro-based industry sector of the northwest region, currently the bank has adopted multipurpose development programs, which are being implemented at the grassroots to make the credit programs easier.

“We are giving more emphasis to enhancing credit flow towards exploring the potential sectors of the region,” Pradip Datta said adding that the level best effort is on to ensure transparency and accountability in all the banking activities.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ Mar-29-2011