Bangladesh Bank (BB) has sought permission from the government to inspect the Probashi Kalyan Bank (PKB) and the Palli Sanchay Bank (PSB) in a bid to ensure good governance in the management of the banks, a senior central banker said.
Besides, the initiative has been taken to strengthen the internal management of the two banks, he said.
The two specialised banks have already started functioning, but the authority concerned is yet to inspect these banks, a competent source said, adding that it is not helpful in ensuring good governance in the two banks.
"We have seen newspaper reports on allegations of corruption, irregularities and nepotism in the PKB," he added.
On July 01, 2015, the central bank wrote a letter to the Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID), seeking permission to put the two specialised banks on its inspection list.
"We have just received a letter from the central bank seeking to include the PKB and the PSB on its inspection list. It is very import task. It will be needed to get approval for inclusion of the banks in the list. We are now working on the issue seriously," said a high official of the BFID. The PKB and the PSB have started carrying out their activities in accordance with the Probashi Kalyan Bank Act-2010 and the Palli Sanchay Bank Act-2014. But the central bank cannot supervise or inspect the operations of these banks as per the acts, sources said.
Earlier, the government issued gazette notifications as per sections 44 and 45 of the Bank Company Act-1991 for inspection of Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, Karmasangsthan Bank and Grameen Bank, the letter said.
By issuing such a gazette notification, the authority concerned of the finance ministry may give power to the central bank for inspecting these banks, he said.
There is an option to bring the banks under the BB's inspection by issuing gazette notification by the government, said Chowdhury Md. Feroz Bin Alam, general manager of Banking Regulation and Policy Department of BB in the letter.
So, it is mandatory to issue gazette notifications according to sections 44 and 45 of Bank Company Act-1991 to ensure good governance and strengthen internal management of the banks through inspection like the country's other specialised banks.
According to the Probashi Kalyan Bank Act-2010 and the Palli Sanchay Bank Act-2014, the central bank has no authority to inspect these banks. But section 4(5) of PKB Act-2010 and section 3(2) of PSB Act-2014 state that the government can bring these banks under inspection of the central bank by publishing gazette notification, a BB source said preferring anonymity.
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