Bangladesh Bank (BB) yesterday issued a comprehensive guideline to provide banking services at customer's premises and ensure transparency in rights and obligations of clients.

The central bank has advised all banks to prepare their own schemes aligned to the guideline.

BB said charges to be imposed on the customer for pickup and delivery services must be clearly stated in the agreement with the customer. Information about the charges must be disclosed on the bank's websites.

In addition to own employees, banks may provide pickup and delivery services through agents at customer's premises, according to the guideline.

If banks engage agents to deliver services, it should be ensured that all key risks in outsourcing, including operational risk, contractual risk, legal risk, compliance risk, reputation risk, are properly addressed, since the failure of a service provider in providing a specified service, a breach in security or confidentiality, or non-compliance with legal and regulatory requirements can lead to financial losses or loss of reputation for the bank.

The service is to be provided during regular banking hours and days only; pick-up or delivery of cash shall be made using armoured cars, non-armoured cars can also be used provided these are equipped with dual control safe and supported with adequate security back-up.

Strictest measure of safeguards, control and confidentiality shall be adopted in providing the services.

The guideline said pick up and delivery services shall be offered to only those customers in whose proper Know Your Customer procedures, as laid down in circular/direction/guideline of anti-money laundering department.

Source: The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ 1st  Dec 2011

applications for setting up 32 new banks under the changed criteria announced in late September this year. The BB received most of the applications yesterday, the last day for submitting applications, a BB official said.

“We will open these applications today (Thursday) when the names of the proposed banks will be available,” General Manger of Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the central bank KM Abdul Wadud told BSS.

The central bank started receiving the applications from October 1 after publishing guideline to establish new banks imposing a restriction to keep the number of directors in their board within 13.

Under the guidelines, the paid-up capital of a new commercial bank has been fixed at Taka 400 crore as required under Bank Company Act 1991.

The country’s financial sector now consists of 47 banks and over 100 financial institutions. BRAC Bank was the last one in the past decade to start operations in Bangladesh in 2001.

Source: The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 1st  Dec 2011

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended its support to speed up the inflow of remittance from Bangladeshi people living abroad.

The project named ‘Institutional Support for Migrant Workers Remittance’ will facilitate expatriate Bangladeshis and their family members at home get the most benefit of the remittance, an official at the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said.

It said Bangladesh Bank (BB) will implement a component of the US$ 2 million project to assist banks and financial institutions establish a convenient network for quick disbursement of remittance.

The BB’s component will cost US$ 1.2 million when the rest US$ 0.80 will be spent by the respective ministry for motivation and awareness building programme for potential migrant and remittance earners, the official said.

“The project will help increase remittance inflow”, Secretary of Ex-patriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan told BSS yesterday.

Senior Assistant Chief of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Abdul Matin said the ADB approved a grant for the project in January this year and indicated last week that it would disburse the fund soon.

Source: The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 1st  Dec 2011

Mercantile Bank Limited (MBL) has opened its 69th branch at Imamganj in Dhaka recently.

Abdul Jalil, member of parliament and chairman of the Bank, formally inaugurated the branch, said a press release.

Mostofa Zalal Mohiuddin, MP, was also present on the occasion as special guest, said a press release.

Md Selim, vice chairman, ASM Feroz Alam, M Amanullah, M Shahab- uddin Alam, Mosharref Hossain, MA Khan Belal, directors, AKM Shahidul Haque, managing director and chief executive officer of MBL, were also present on the occasion.

Source: The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 1st  Dec 2011

Agricultural loan disbursement in the first four months of the current fiscal year (FY) further declined by about Tk 6.0 billion, compared with the same period the year before, Bangladesh Bank (BB) said.

According to the BB data, state-owned commercial banks (SCBs), state-owned specialised banks, private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign commercial banks (FCBs) together have disbursed Tk 30.10 billion up to October of current FY, which was 36.08 billion a year ago.

Of the disbursed amount, SCBs and SSBs have disbursed Tk 19.79 billion against Tk 27.40 billion and PCBs and FCBs together disbursed Tk 10.31 billion against Tk 8.69 billion during the corresponding period of last FY.

Abul Kalam Azad, general manager of agricultural credit department of BB, told the FE that they met high ups of all banks Wednesday to discuss the reasons of decreasing trend of soft loan disbursement and how to increase disbursement.

"We've instructed to bankers to fulfill their social commitment to the farmers and decided to maintain our physical follow-up measures at field level from the next month on the issue," Mr Azad said.

"Bankers have assured us of strengthening their activities in soft loan disbursement by the end of this year. We are hopeful to see a change in situation," he added.

Managing Director of Janata Bank Ltd. Md Aminur Rahman told the FE that due to some unavoidable circumstances and unfavorable weather, they could not do well in soft loan disbursement during the period, but was working on filling the gap soon.

Abdul Hamid Mia, Managing Director of Agrani bank Ltd, also expressed his surprise for not achieving the target of soft loan disbursement, despite efforts.

"Any loan disbursement can see ups and down. But in case of soft loan disbursement we always try to fulfill our target as the central bank has given us special instructions in this regard," Mr Mia added.

"We are now conducting study on how the disbursement can be increased," he said.

A high official of Islami Bank Ltd, preferring not to be identified, said they always try to achieve the bank's disbursement targets.

"We always prefer decentralisation of funds. We always disburse the highest amount of such loans among the farmers," he said.

Islami Bank has disbursed Tk 3.3 billion of the total disbursement of PCBs and FCBs, BB data showed.

Source: The Finance/ Bangladesh/ 30th Nov 2011