Amid ongoing concerns over governance and allegations against independent directors, Bangladesh Bank has appointed observers to four private commercial banks.
The banks are National Bank, Premier Bank, IFIC Bank, and Al-Arafah Islami Bank.
The central bank issued formal letters last week appointing four officials of director rank to monitor the operations of these banks. The move follows the dissolution of the banks' previous boards shortly after the fall of the Awami League government, which was triggered by widespread reports of corruption and financial anomalies.
Although independent and shareholder directors were subsequently appointed by the central bank to manage these banks, officials noted that the situation has not seen significant improvement. Sources within Bangladesh Bank indicated that the observers were specifically deployed following allegations against some of the current independent directors.
The newly appointed observers will attend all meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive Committees, and Audit Committees to provide rigorous oversight.
According to central bank sources, the appointees are Munir Ahmed Chowdhury, Director of Bank Supervision Department-12 appointed at National Bank.
Mohammad Anisur Rahman, Director of Islamic Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the central bank to Al-Arafah Islami Bank. ANM Moinul Kabir, Director of the Payment Systems Department to Premier Bank: and AKM Kamruzzaman, Director of Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department-1 to IFIC Bank.
The four banks were previously under the control of influential groups and individuals closely linked to the former administration. National Bank was operated by the Sikdar Group, while Premier Bank was led by HBM Iqbal’s Premier Group. IFIC Bank was under the chairmanship of Salman F. Rahman, former advisor to the ousted Prime Minister, and Al-Arafah Islami Bank was overseen by Abdus Samad, Vice Chairman of the S. Alam Group.
The dual presence of both independent directors and central bank observers has raised questions within the banking sector regarding the specific message the regulator intends to send regarding the stability and integrity of these institutions.