Six major state-owned banks—Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali, BASIC, and Bangladesh Development Bank (BDBL)—have been operating without managing directors (MDs) for nearly a month, creating a leadership vacuum in these key financial institutions. The Ministry of Finance sent a letter on September 19, officially canceling the contracts of the MDs for these banks. In response, the chairmen of the banks have urged Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed to expedite the appointment of new MDs. Banks hit by liquidity crunch: Limited cash withdrawals spark nationwide frustration In a meeting on Monday, Sonali Bank Chairman Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Agrani Bank Chairman Syed Abu Nasser Bakhtiar Ahmed, and Rupali Bank Chairman Nazrul Huda met with the finance adviser to discuss the urgent need for leadership in the banks. They stressed the importance of filling the vacant MD positions as soon as possible. A chairman who attended the meeting confirmed that they had formally requested new MD appointments, and the finance adviser assured them that the matter would be reviewed. Finance Adviser urges banks to ensure rigorous loan scrutiny and inclusive lending Since the September 19 letter, the MDs have been officially removed from office, leaving the banks to operate without their top executives.

The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division in the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday stayed a High Court (HC) verdict that sentenced five top officials  of the Agrani Bank including its Managing Director Murshedul Kabir to three months' imprisonment for disobeying a lower court order earlier. Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing a petition in this regard. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for Agrani Bank in the court while counsels Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Momtaz Uddin Fakir, Shamim Khaled and Barrister Tanjibul Alam represented the bank officials. Rape case in Uttara: Main suspect, associate arrested The defendants’ lawyers said the HC verdict will remain suspended until March 18 following Thursday’s verdict. As a result, the officials will not have to surrender before the trial court within this period and police will not have jurisdiction to arrest them, they said. On January 23 this year, the HC sentenced the five officials to three months' imprisonment for defying a court order by including Moon Group's name in the list of Credit Information Bureau (CIB) of Bangladesh Bank (BB). The four other officials are its principal branch’s General Manager Md Fazlul Karim, on post-retirement leave (LPR) General Manager AKM Fazlul Haque, Deputy Manager-2 Shyamal Krishna Saha and Deputy Managing Director-1 Wahida Begum. Advocate Nurul Amin who stood for the Moon Group said the HC sentenced the officials for contempt of court and ordered to confiscate their properties while details will be known when the full verdict is published. 634 people arrested for robbery in 2023: RAB Later, a petition was submitted with the Chamber Judge Court on Wednesday against the HC verdict. It was learned that on September 20, 2021, the principal branch of the bank sent a letter to the Moon Group to pay 25 percent of its dues in installments. The letter reads if the group does not refund 25 percent of the loan by September 30, 2021, it will be listed as a defaulter and sent to the BB’s CIB. Challenging the legality of the bank's letter, a decree was sought in the lower court. At the same time, a temporary ban was sought against the bank's letter on behalf of the group. Being rejected by the lower court, the group submitted a miscellaneous appeal with the HC against this order while the HC issued status quo on the bank's letter and a rule as well. Meanwhile, the bank sent the group to the BB’s CIB listing it as a defaulter for not paying 25 percent installments of the loan within the stipulated time. Man gets life term for raping young girl in Natore Later, the group submitted a violation case against the five with the HC in this regard. After hearing the case, the court sentenced five officials to three months' civil imprisonment. According to the case statement, the group owed Tk 539 crore to Agrani Bank till 2017.

Two security guards (Ansar members) were found dead inside Radhganj Bazar branch of Agrani Bank in Raipura upazila of Narsingdi on Wednesday morning. The deceased were identified as Tauhidul Alam, 24, of Faridpur, and Ranju Mia, 40, of Tangail. The bank authorities informed police after getting no response from the guards this morning. Read more: Arms snatched from Ansar members in Narsingdi Later, police recovered the bodies after breaking the gate of the bank around 11:30 am, said Azizul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Raipura police station. “The details can be informed after an investigation,” said the OC. However, the bank authorities claimed that no money was stolen from the bank volt, he added.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday conducted a drive at Nalitabari branch of Agrani Bank to probe allegation that loans meant for farmers have been withdrawn through fraud. Deputy Director of ACC Public relation office Muhammad Arif Sadeq told UNB that the enforcement team of Integrated District Office, Tangail led by Deputy Director Jitendra Nath visited the spot and questioned the concerned including the branch manager Suman Chandra Karmakar about the allegations and recorded their statements. Read: ACC sues 10 people on embezzlement charge The team checked the documents of the fake loan and recorded the statements of fake loan receivers, the spokesperson also said. The ACC has already filed two cases against the accused on corruption charges, which are currently in the process of approval of the chargesheet. Read: ACC investigating Hefazat leaders Babunagri, Mamunul for graft, fund embezzlement According to the case, Branch Manager of the bank withdrew the dedicated loan allocated for the farmers creating fake National Identify Card (NID) in the name of farmers. The ACC Enforcement Team will submit a final report to the Commission along with the necessary recommendations after verifying all the information and evidence obtained in the operation.

Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday urged banks to come forward with easy loans to help create entrepreneurs in both agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

Local administration has put Agrani Bank Kumarkhali branch under lockdown as five employees of the bank tested positive for coronavirus recently.   Rajibul Islam Khan, Kumarkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer, confirmed the matter on Friday.   Hasen Ali, a senior officer of the bank, was diagnosed with coronavirus on July 3, said bank manager Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardi.   Later, another officer of the bank Imtiaz Zaman was found infected with the virus on July 6, he said.   The bank authorities arranged  samples tests of all the employees of the branch.   Three more officials of the bank branch tested positive for coronavirus on July 9 after testing, forcing the local administration to put the bank under lockdown.

Two people including the manager of Lohagara branch Agrani Bank have been infected with coronavirus, forcing the authorities concerned to put the bank under lockdown.   District Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen, said Agranai Bank manager Tarek Majnu was in home  isolation.   Lohagara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mukul Kumar Moitra, said the bank was put under lockdown to contain transmission of coronavirus.   According to the Civil Surgeon office sources, a total of 67 people, including 10 physicians and 14 police members, have been infected with coronavirus in the district. Of them, 23 people including eight doctors have recovered while two people died from Covid-19.

Seven banks filed 4,305 cases against farmers over unpaid loans of around Tk 12.67 crore in the district.