Shimanta Bank to go into operation soon

Shimanta Bank, the proposed scheduled bank for Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), will start functioning soon, sources said.
It will take four to six months on the part of the authorities concerned to launch the bank, they said, adding that the ministry of home affairs (MoHA) in the meanwhile has sought opinion from different quarters on the proposed bank for BGB.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given her approval in principle to launch the commercial bank for BGB, the sources said.
The new bank will start its operation with a paid-up capital of Tk 4.0 billion. Of the total amount, the BGB has arranged Tk 1.0 billion from the Border Guard Welfare Trust and the remaining amount will come in the form of government credit, according to MoHA data.
The main branch of the bank will be set up at 'Shimanta Shambhar' building, now under-construction, at Peelkhana in Dhaka.
The scheduled bank will follow the model of Trust Bank (sponsored by the Army Welfare Trust, the first of its kind in the country). The main objective of the bank is to provide easy-term loan to BGB members for better livelihood, housing, pension scheme, agriculture loan, marriage loan and medical purposes.
BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed will be the head of the bank to be run by the Border Guard Welfare Trust.
Despite repeated attempts over phone, the BGB director general could not be reached for his comments in this regard.     
The BGB chief has recently met with Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Atiur Rahman to discuss the formation of the bank. All necessary steps have been taken as part of the construction of the bank, said a competent source.
"We have received a letter from the MoHA on Shimanta Bank. We are cross-checking the process," Dr. M Aslam Alam, Secretary of the Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID), told the FE last week.
The Bangladesh Army has been operating Trust Bank since 1999. Apart from Trust Bank, Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, a specialised bank for the members of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party, has been in operation since 1995.
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