The central bank has decided in principle to approve three more private commercial banks (PCBs), attaching a condition of Tk 5.0-billion set as paid-up capital instead of the existing Tk 4.0 billion.
The decision was made at a meeting of the Bangladesh Bank's (BB) board of directors held at its headquarters on Sunday with BB Governor Fazle Kabir in the chair.
The three approved PCBs are Bengal Commercial Bank Limited, Peoples Bank Limited and Citizen Bank Limited.
"Our board has given approval to issue letter of intents (LoIs) to the proposed banks being satisfied with scrutinising all relevant documents since 2017," said BB executive director Abu Farah Md Naser after the meeting.
He told reporters that the board has re-fixed the amount of paid-up capital, considering the size of economy as well as GDP (gross domestic product).
"Our board has increased the amount of paid-up capital to protect the possible depositors of the proposed banks," Mr Naser explained.
BB officials said the proposed chairmen are Jashim Uddin for Bengal Commercial Bank, MA Kashem for Peoples Bank and Jahanara Huq for Citizen Bank.
Talking to the FE, another BB official said the department concerned of the BB will issue the LoIs after receiving regulations of the board meeting.
"We normally give six months to fulfil conditions on the LoIs," the central banker said while replying to a query.
The proposed banks will have to apply again to the board for seeking final approval after fulfilling the LoIs conditions, he added.
After Awami League formed government in 2009, nine banks were given permission on 'political consideration' despite opposition from different quarters.
Besides, Shimanto Bank Limited, owned by Border Guard Bangladesh Welfare Trust, was given licence in 2016.
Earlier on August 28, 2018, the central bank also approved Community Bank Limited, owned by Bangladesh Policy Welfare Trust.
Currently, there are 58 banks in Bangladesh. Of them, 40 are local private banks, nine foreign banks and nine state-owned banks.
After completing the licensing process, the number of banks will stand at 62.
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