The suspension on CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities of four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) is likely to go soon after re-examination of the existing guidelines, officials said.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith asked officials of the Banks and Financial Institutions Division of his ministry last week to review the existing guidelines before withdrawing the suspension aiming to curb drainage of public funds, they added.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) suspended the CSR activities of the state-owned Agrani Bank, Janata Bank, Rupali Bank and Bangladesh Development Bank on August 28, 2014 in the face of allegation of heavy spending by them.
The ministry put block on spending of such fund after board of one of those banks approved Tk 100 million from CSR fund in favour of an organisation to establish a hospital in the capital.
Mr Muhith's latest directive came in the wake of submission of an application by the same organisation to release the fund which was put on block by the MoF through an order.
"The minister has asked us to re-examine the CSR guidelines and bring necessary amendments before withdrawing the suspension. Due to the suspension order on the CSR activities by those banks, some cases having real needs of funds are barred," a senior MoF official told the FE.
He said MoF officials will soon sit to review the existing CSR guidelines, and identify some areas having real needs of funds for the wellbeing of commoners.
The official said areas like distribution of warm clothes during winter, helping flood and other disaster-hit people, providing money to Prime Minister's fund after Rana Plaza like incidents, supporting educational institutions will be considered.
If needed, a special order will be issued suggesting permissible areas for spending CSR funds, he added.
Another MoF official said various public entities, especially banks and financial institutions, 'misuse' a significant amount of money in the name of CSR activities.
Many directors of banks are found allegedly involved in granting money for some activities which are not entitled to get money from CSR funds. Some have been spending money from CSR funds of state-owned banks for political gains, he said.
The central bank issued guidelines for CSR activities by banks and financial institutions in December last year where education segment got the highest priority followed by preventive and curative health care support for underprivileged population.
The guidelines said around 30 per cent of total CSR expenditure should go for promoting education especially by awarding scholarship or stipend to students from low-income families in reputed academic and vocational training institutions and also to support upgradation of facilities in such institutions.
It allocated some 20 per cent of CSR expenditure to assist direct grants towards costs of curative treatment of individual patients, towards costs of running hospitals and diagnostic centres engaged substantially in treatment of patients from underprivileged population.
The guidelines allocated the remaining 50 per cent of CSR fund for areas like emergency disaster relief, promotion of environmentally sustainable output practices and lifestyles and enhancement of artistic, cultural, literary, sports and recreational facilities for underprivileged people.
Statistics show that the scheduled banks spent Tk 3.046 billion for CSR activities in 2012 and Tk 2.188 billion in 2011.
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