Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday gave its seal of approval to Citizen Bank Limited, asking the lender to boost paid-up capital to Tk 5.0 billion within two years.
The board of directors of the central bank took the decision at a meeting held at its headquarters, with BB governor Fazle Kabir in the chair.
"Our board has given final approval to Citizen Bank after fulfilling the regulatory requirements," BB's spokesperson and executive director Serajul Islam told the FE after the meeting.
Talking to the FE, another BB official said Toufika Aftab is the chairman of the proposed private commercial bank (PCB).
He also said another proposed bank, Peoples Bank Limited, is still in the pipeline for getting the final approval.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Masoom has already joined the proposed Citizen Bank as its managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO).
"We're trying to go into operation as early as possible," he told the FE while replying to a query.
Mr Masoom, also a former AMD of Midland Bank Limited, said the Citizen Bank will focus on the cottage, micro and small enterprises (CMSEs) along with retail banking to help achieve sustainable economic development of the country.
"We'll also emphasize corporate financing," the CEO noted. On February 17, the BB board decided, in principle, to approve three more PCBs, including Citizen Bank, attaching a condition of Tk 5.0-billion set as the paid-up capital instead of the existing Tk 4.0 billion.
After the Awami League formed the government in 2009, nine banks were given the green light on 'political consideration,' despite opposition from different quarters.
Shimanto Bank Limited, owned by BGB Welfare Trust, was offered the licence in 2016.
Two years later, the BB board gave the final approval to the Community Bank.
On February 23, the central bank issued a licence to Bengal Commercial Bank Limited in line with its board of directors' decision. Currently, there are 60 banks in Bangladesh, of which 42 are local private banks, nine are foreign, and nine are state-owned lenders.
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