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Nothing to worry about deposits in merged banks: Bangladesh Bank
The central bank of Bangladesh has been forced to issue a statement to clear the air, as it were, of the confusion arising out of its initiative to bring about consolidation in the country's ailing banking sector. As a necessary part of the process aimed at reducing the number of banks in the country, the sector is going to witness a number of mergers between previously disparate entities in the coming days.
Top execs of merging bank cannot hold posts at acquiring entity: Bangladesh Bank
Five merger proposals have already been received and are expected to be approved by the end of 2024. They involve around 11 institutions, and if completed as proposed, would reduce the number of banks in Bangladesh by 6 - around 10% of the total.
Yet the unprecedented nature of these moves in the banking sector, where there is no previous record of two Bangladeshi banks having merged, has led to a state of panic and confusion among members of the public, to the extent that people are reportedly withdrawing their deposits from certain banks, said sources at some respected banks.
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They said most of the depositors are suffering from the dilemma of whether or not to keep money in the bank. Some are withdrawing their money from the banks due to 'fear'.
Bangladesh Bank was forced to address the issue in its statement today, asserting that individual as well as institutional depositors' money will remain fully safe and secure in banks during the merger process.
Noticing different news and social media posts, the central bank said accountholders of two merging banks will be able to maintain their respective accounts as before even after the completion of the merger.
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The merger process will be completed based on the consent of the entrepreneurial directors, current boards, and common shareholders of the banks covered by the merger, said the statement.
Fake certificate syndicate: Ex-chairman of Technical Education Board questioned by DB following wife's arrest
Ali Akbar Khan, former chairman of Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), whose wife was arrested in a case filed over forging and selling fake certificates, was questioned at the DB office on Tuesday afternoon.
He has been given two days by the DB authorities. If he does not provide an explanation regarding the allegations against him within these two days and if evidence of involvement in the forgery is found later, action will be taken against him, said DB Chief Harun-Or-Rashid at a press conference in the DB office on Tuesday evening.
He said, “I believe the Chairman of the Board cannot evade responsibility for this incident. We will now see whether he really knew about the certificate sale incident."
Harun said, "The Chairman and the Exam Controller have neglected their duties or have deliberately overlooked them. We have questioned them about it. Despite knowing about such forgery, no action was taken. About his wife's involvement, he claimed he didn't know."
"In our interrogation, we have tried to find out how this forgery occurred month after month using the password of the technical board's website. He is the chairman of that institution. The institution operates under his guidance and leadership. Documents are being taken from that institution which can be seen through CCTV footage. Yet no action was taken. Moreover, the Exam Controller has also been signing certificates month after month,” he said.
The DB chief also said, "Ali Akbar Khan's wife has also been questioned. She admitted in the interrogation that she took money from the system analyst Shamsujjaman."
After the questioning at DB office, Ali Akbar Khan told the media, “As the Chairman of the Board, I cannot evade responsibility for the certificate sales.”
When asked about his wife's arrest, he said, “I don't know anything about my wife's situation. I don't know what information the intelligence agency has obtained. But I believe she is being arrested without any crime.”
Ali Akbar Khan said, “An incident has occurred. A thorough investigation should be conducted into this matter. Those responsible should be punished. In this case, we are ashamed and saddened!”
About the system analyst’s claim that he took a TK20 lakh bribe, Ali Akbar said, “It is false, baseless, and without foundation. Investigation is ongoing.”
On April 1, DB arrested the system analyst and one of his cohorts with certificates, certificate-making papers. Later, several others were also arrested. The latest arrest was Sehela Parveen, the wife of Akbar Ali Khan. Following her arrest, DB summoned him for interrogation.
Arbitrary introduction of mergers caused further unrest in banking sector: TIB
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in statement on Tuesday said the arbitrary announcement of certain bank mergers, coupled with concerns among well-performing banks involved in the process and unwillingness of some underperforming banks, has worsened anxiety, unrest, and uncertainty within the banking sector.
The TIB believes that such instances have cast doubts over the entire process even before it started.
“The central bank has initiated steps to merge underperforming banks with stronger counterparts in order to save weak banks in the sector, which is supposed to be considered as being in line with global practices related to tackling crisis in the financial sector,” TIB opined.
However, global standards and policies including the Bangladesh Bank’s own policies have been ignored to complete this sensitive and complex task hastily, said the statement.
The anti-corruption organisation asserts that the lack of transparency in the bank merger process, particularly concerning the management of default loans and issues of accountability within weak banks burdened by default loans, essentially sidesteps the main problem of the crisis and gives impunity to the factions responsible for loan defaults and forgery.
According to the merger policy issued by the Bangladesh Bank, underperforming banks are allowed to express their interest to merge with financially sound banks following the assessment of assets and liabilities by an auditor firm enlisted by the central bank and disclosing the details in the current year.
Considering the evaluation of assets, there are provisions for good banks to voluntarily express interest in initiating mergers with weaker banks.Highlighting that the central bank can only resort to forceful mergers if the initial steps fail, said the statement.
TIB Executive Director (ED) Dr Iftekharuzzaman stated, “Based on media reports, only one weak bank has shown interest in voluntary merger, and conversely, it's not necessarily the case that the financially sound banks mentioned in the process have willingly and consciously engaged in it.”
This suggests that the entire process has been imposed on them arbitrarily, which is a clear violation of the declared policies, he said.
Moreover, how fair and reasonable is it to transfer the burdens of default loans and forgeries to good banks without first assessing the assets and liabilities of the weaker ones? It appears that the ongoing actions are akin to prescribing paracetamol for cancer treatments, said Dr Iftekhar
“On one hand, the culture of loan defaults is exacerbated by shielding factions responsible for them and forgery under the guise of mergers. Contrarily, significant attempts are underway to compel good banks to digest weaker ones as a result of their success. This has fostered an atmosphere of anxiety and restlessness across the entire sector,” he pointed out.
Expressing apprehensions that attempts to salvage weak banks might backfire, the TIB ED remarked:
“Government-government, private-government, and private-private mergers are all being considered. However, it remains unclear on what basis these banks have been prioritised, or how the decision was made regarding which financially sound banks would merge with which weak ones,” said Dr Iftekhar.
Additionally, some banks not yet mentioned in the merger process have been kept afloat through liquidity assistance. However, two government-owned banks, known for their strong performance, are slated to absorb two underperforming banks despite having significant amounts of default loans themselves, he urged.
“Given these circumstances, it is unrealistic to believe that simply merging banks, without ensuring effective accountability-based good governance to address the basic challenges in the banking sector, will resolve the problem or safeguard the interests of clients,” he opined.
Benazir’s wealth: HC orders ACC to submit progress report of investigation within 2 months
The High Court on Tuesday asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to submit a progress report on the investigation about the alleged illegal wealth of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and his family, within two months.The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadoth Hossain passed the suo moto order.Advocate Sarwar Hossain and Barrister Manoj Kumar Bhoumik stood for the petitioner while senior advocate Shah Manjurul Haque and Syed Ahmed Raza stood for Benazir while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the ACC and the state respectively.The HC bench said like India, Bangladesh should also have a wealth statement law for government employees. If there was a law, no one would have to guard their (government employees) property.
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In India, government employees have to submit their wealth statements at the time of joining and retiring from the job. Action is taken if there is a difference of more than 10 percent of the assets in the statement. To materialise Bangabandhu's dream of Sonar Bangla, such a law will have to be enacted, it added.
Earlier, ACC formed a committee to investigate the alleged corruption of Benazir Ahmed and his family.ACC secretary Khorsheda Yeasmin informed the update at a briefing held at the headquarter of the Commission on Monday.
High Court orders to recruit 285 people with disabilities under quota in govt primary schoolsBesides, a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking investigation into the allegation brought against ex-IGP Benazir and his family.Salauddin Regan, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition.The writ petition also sought investigation into the allegation.
It also sought issuance of a rule asking the government to explain as to why the ineffectiveness of the ACC in investigating the wealth of Benazir should not be declared illegal.Chairman of ACC, ACC Commissioners and ACC secretary were made respondents to the writ petition.A vernacular daily published a report on the title of ‘Aladiner Cherag at the house of Benazir’ on March 31.Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Sumon MP filed a petition with ACC seeking legal steps against Benazir on Sunday.
Load shedding crosses 1000 MW amid sweltering heat
The extent of load shedding in the country crossed 1000 MW on Tuesday in electricity supply against soaring demand.
This is first time in recent days the power shortage crossed such a level while the highest load shedding was recorded at 966 MW on Monday although the power generation set a new record with the figure at 16,233 MW.
Amid the sweltering heat, first working day starts with 966 MW of load shedding
According to the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) at the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the country’s demand was recorded at 15,200 MW at 3pm on Tuesday, when the load shedding was 1049 MW.
On the other hand, the demand forecast for Tuesday evening was 16,800 MW and supply forecast was 16,530 MW.
According to official sources, maximum burden of the loadshedding was diverted to rural areas, as part of a policy to avert power outages in capital Dhaka and other large cities.
Gas supply situation slightly improves, load shedding continues
Reports from different areas said the extent of loadshedding is aggravating the plight of the rural people amid the sweltering heat this summer.
Meanwhile, state-owned Petrobangla’s official data shows that the country’s gas production was 3,056 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) against a demand for 3,760 MW.
Despite weekly holiday, Saturday starts with 1,636 MW of load shedding
It shows that a good number of power plants, specifically those using gas as their primary fuel, remained off generation due to gas shortage.
The power plants received a supply of 1330 MMCFD gas against their demand for 2316.9 MMCFD, the data shows.
DMP providing drinking water amid heat wave
Bangladesh police is organizing safe drinking water for daily wagers, rickshaw pullers and low-income people amid the ongoing heat wave that is sweeping across the country for the last several days, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman.
DMP kept arrangements of pure drinking water by setting up some trolleys of water in different parts of the city under 50 police station areas, he said while briefing to reporters at DMP Media Centre.
He also believed that Bangladesh Police has not only set an example in maintaining law and order situation but also in humanitarian issues.
Replying to a question about changing the uniform of traffic police, the DMP commissioner said so far there is no such thought but there is a norm to provide white umbrellas instead of black.
Besides, the police hospitals are kept ready to provide treatment to the sick policemen if they fall ill amid the heat.
DGHS issues directives to reduce risk of heat stroke
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Tuesday issued some directives to reduce the risk of heat stroke in extreme heat.
According to the DGHS Facebook page,
· It asked people to refrain from severe heat and keep rest in sheds occasionally.
· It also asks to drink plenty of safe water (2.5 to 3 litres for adults) and avoid having street food and beverage to avoid waterborne diseases like hepatitis A, E and diarrhea.
· It also asks people to take bath multiple times, if needed.
· The DGHS asks to wear loose and light colour dress and avoid from deep colourful dress amid hot temperature.
· It also asks to go to the hospital immediately and consult a doctor if any symptoms like stop sweating, nausea, severe headache, and rises in body temperatures, urination decreases, urinary irritation, seizures and occurrence of fainting are found in a person.
· To take medical treatments during extreme heat in any health issues like diabetics, kidney disease, high blood pressure and others.
· It also asks to take care of mental health and follow the directives and inspire others to follow it.
· Make a call to Health care service 16263 for health related issue.
Bangladesh reports 23 COVID-19 cases in 24hrs
Bangladesh reported 23 more COVID-19 cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total COVID-19 caseload rose to 2,049,897, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,494 as no new fatalities were reported during this period.
The daily case test positivity rate was 4.55 percent as 506 samples were tested, said the DGHS.
The recovery and death rates stood at 98.41 percent and 1.44 per cent, respectively.
11 dengue patients hospitalised in 24hrs
No fresh death due to dengue was reported in Bangladesh in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, eleven patients were hospitalised with viral fever during this period, according to the DGHS.
Of them, four were admitted in Dhaka hospitals, while the rest was outside the capital.
A total of 120 patients are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, 2, 051dengue cases have been reported since January 1, 2024.
Last year, a total of 1,705 people lost their lives due to dengue, making it the deadliest year on record.
The DGHS recorded 321,179 dengue cases and 3, 18,749 recoveries last year.
Last year’s September was the deadliest month for the dengue outbreak, with 396 fatalities and 79,598 cases, according to DGHS data.
Seminar: All actors urged to work together to secure rights of migrants
Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday highlighted the emerging challenges of labour migration from South Asia and urged all actors to work together to secure the rights of the migrants.
Speaking as the chief guest, PM’s Economic Affairs Adviser Dr. Mashiur Rahman spoke about the contribution of labour migrants to the South Asian economy and highlighted Bangladesh’s enthusiasm for working together with other countries.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Consortium of South Asian Think Tanks (COSATT) and Political Dialogue Asia Programme, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) organised the regional seminar on “Labour Migrants from South Asia: Issues and Concerns” at BIISS auditorium.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Khairul Alam spoke as special guest.
BIISS Chairman Ambassador AFM Gousal Azam Sarker chaired the inaugural session while Director General of BIISS Major General Md Abu Bakar Siddique Khan and Convener, COSATT Dr. Nishchal N. Pandey delivered welcome remarks.
Regional Programme, Political Dialogue Asia, KAS, Singapore Andreas Klein Director also spoke.
The seminar was divided into two working sessions. The first working session was focused on “Labour Migrants from South Asia: Contemporary Challenges” which was chaired by Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka.
Five presenters: Md Shariful Hasan, Programme Head, BRAC Migration Programme; Dr Mallika Joseph, Senior Fellow, WISCOMP, New Delhi; Mahesh Raj Bhatta, Research Officer, Centre for South Asian Studies, Kathmandu; Shishir Khanal, Member of Parliament, Kathmandu and Col. Nalin Herath, acting Director General, Institute of National Security Studies, Colombo participated in the first session.
The second working session was concentrated on “Addressing Challenges: Regional Cooperation and Partnerships”.
It was chaired by Megha Sarmah, Programme Manager 2030 Agenda, KAS, Singapore.
The second session also had five presentations from Dr. Benuka Ferdousi, Senior Research Fellow, BIISS; Sugeeswara Senadhira, Advisor, the Prime Minister’s Office, Colombo; Hernaikh Singh, Deputy Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Anu Maria Joseph, Research Associate, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, Dr. Anasua Bosu Ray Choudhury, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata.
Senior officials from different ministries, diplomats, senior civil and military officials, media, academia, researchers, faculties and students from various universities, and representatives from international organisations participated in the seminar.