37 applications for new banks received

Siddique Islam The central bank has received some 37 applications from interested sponsors for setting up new private commercial banks (PCBs) under the amended guidelines, officials said Wednesday. "We've received a total of 37 applications on close of the submission date Wednesday," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The central bank will start the evaluation process of the applications soon, he said, adding that three committees - preliminary, technical and financial - will scrutinise all the applications. "We'll place a short list of the proposed banks after completing all formalities to the BB's board of directors meeting for final approval," the central banker said. The officials, however, did not disclose the names of the proposed banks, but said that they would issue lincence for establishing the new PCBs as early as possible. Meanwhile from different sources it was learnt that the names of proposed banks include Federal Bank, Citizen Bank, Modern Islami Bank, Chartered Bank, Global Bank, TMMS Bank, Southern Bank, Western Bank, Universal Bank, Metro Bank and Gulf Bangla Bank. Political leaders, businessmen, physicians and foreign nationals are involved in the management of the proposed banks, entrepreneurs and central bank officials said. The central bank started receiving the applications from October 1 last after publishing guidelines to establish new banks imposing a restriction to keep the number of directors in their board within 13. The paid-up capital of a new commercial bank will have to be Tk 4.0 billion as required under Bank Company Act 1991, according to the amended guidelines issued by the BB on September 5 last. "A bank draft of Tk 1.0 million in favour of the BB has to be attached to the letter of application that serves as a non-refundable application processing fee," the guidelines said. If an individual or any member of his or her family is or had been a loan defaulter with a bank or financial institution at any time during the past five years, he or she will not be eligible to apply as a sponsor of any proposed bank, according to the guidelines. "An individual awaiting verdict of any un-disposed lawsuit in any courttribunal against hisher loan default status shall not be eligible to apply as a sponsor of the proposed bank," it said. On June 29 last, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told Parliament that the government would invite applications from the sponsors willing to set up new banks and life insurance companies. Currently, a total of 47 commercial banks are in operation in Bangladesh.