Community Bank gets BB nod
Proposals on three other banks to be placed again
FE Report | Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Bangladesh Bank (BB) board of directors gave its final approval to the proposed Community Bank Limited on Monday.
But it asked the officials concerned to place again three other proposals to launch new banks with required documents for further consideration.
The decisions were taken at a meeting of the central bank's board of directors, held at its headquarters in Dhaka, with BB Governor Fazle Kabir in the chair.
"Our board has unanimously given final approval to the proposed Community Bank Ltd after scrutinising all relevant documents," BB spokesperson and executive director Md. Serajul Islam told reporters after the meeting.
On August 28, the central bank board gave clearance for issuing licence to proposed Community Bank Limited, owned by Bangladesh Police Welfare Trust, after completing all rules and regulations.
Meanwhile, the BB officials concerned were asked in the meeting to submit the proposal for allowing Bengal Commercial Bank Ltd before the board after settling the tax-related cases of its three proposed sponsor shareholders with High Court, according to the spokesperson.
He also said the proposal for Peoples Bank Ltd would be placed again before the board after revaluating the net asset of its proposed chairman M A Kashem in the United States.
"We'll scrutinise the net asset of Mr. Kashem on the basis of the report of Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
He also said the proposal for Citizen Bank Ltd will also be submitted again for the board's approval after furnishing all relevant documents.
"We will place the proposals for allowing the new banks to the board whenever we get the necessary documents from the proposed banks concerned," he added.
After Awami League formed government in 2009, nine banks were given permission on 'political consideration' despite opposition by different quarters.
Besides, Shimanto Bank Limited, owned by BGB Welfare Trust, was given licence in 2016.
Currently, there are 58 banks in Bangladesh. Of them, 40 are local private banks, nine are foreign banks, and nine are state-owned banks.