The Daily Star

Islami Bank to give Tk 1.39cr lifeline to Swan workers

Islami Bank Bangladesh, the financier of Swan Garments over the last 30 years, plans to donate Tk 1.39 crore to clear the workers' one-month salary, the bank's Managing Director Mohammad Abdul Mannan said. Mannan hopes the bank's Board of Directors will agree to give away the fund as a lifeline to the company. The bank cannot invest further in Swan Garments, which has 1,300 workers in two units, as the company does not have any legal owner now, he said. Islami Bank will need the central bank's permission to further bankroll the factory, the loans of which have already been classified, Mannan said. Disputes over Swan's ownership need to be settled first to resume its operations, he said.

Islami Bank urged to lend further to Swan Garments

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) yesterday requested Islami Bank Bangladesh, the financier of Swan Garments, to further lend Tk 1.39 crore to the apparel maker so that it can clear one month's salaries of its workers. Both the DIFE and the bank had been in trouble finding a successor of the company after the death of its Chinese owner, Ming Yuen Hon (Toby), in April. Disputes over the ownership have to be settled to resume operations of Swan Garments, and if Islami Bank wants to continue financing, it will need permission from the central bank as the company's loans have already been classified.

BB bars traditional banks from Islamic banking

The central bank's decision not to allow conventional banks to convert into Islamic banks has frustrated half a dozen lenders. Even conventional banks, which were earlier permitted to open branches or windows for Islamic banking, are not allowed to do it anymore. Bangladesh Bank will not entertain their demand, SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, said yesterday. The banks that are now awaiting the licence to become Islamic Shariah-based banks should have taken their original permits as Islamic banks instead of conventional ones, he said. Some of the applications have been pending for more than two years now.

Islami Bank moves up in global ranking

Islami Bank Bangladesh has moved 16 notches up to rank 954th in 2015 among the top 1,000 banks of the world by The Banker magazine of the UK. The bank ranked 970th in 2014 and 1,000th in 2012, the bank said in a statement. Besides, the bank has been ranked 70th, 250th, 791st and 785th considering return on capital, return on assets, capital assets ratio and amount of assets of the bank respectively, according to the statement. The Banker conducts a rating of the top 1,000 global banks since 1790. The magazine publishes the list in July every year on the basis of data and evaluation of more than 5,000 leading banks from 163 countries.

New DMD for First Security Islami Bank

Md Mustafa Khair has recently been promoted as the deputy managing director of First Security Islami Bank. Prior to the promotion, Khair has been serving the bank as senior executive vice president, the bank said in a statement. He started his banking career at Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha, which is now known as Bangladesh Development Bank. He also worked with IFIC Bank and Dutch-Bangla Bank before joining First Security Islami Bank in 2006, according to the statement.

Shahjalal Islami Bank reelects chairman

Shahjalal Islami Bank has recently reelected AK Azad as its chairman and Mohammad Younus and Md Abdul Barek as vice chairmen. Azad is the managing director of Ha-Meem Group and president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries. He is also the former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Azad is also the managing director of Channel 24 and Daily Samakal. Younus has business concerns in paper, fabric, and cold storages industries. He is also a director of NTV, the bank said. Barek is a sponsor shareholder of Shahjalal Islami Bank and Shahjalal Islami Bank Securities. He also owns Arju Electronics, Jony Electronics and Rony Electronics.

MasterCard launches Islamic cards in Bangladesh

MasterCard partnered with Al-Arafah Islami Bank to launch the MasterCard Islamic debit, credit and prepaid cards in Bangladesh. five new MasterCard cards will be added to the bank's repertoire. The cards will offer the lowest monthly compliance fees, 50 days without any additional charges, along with discounts at over 600 merchants and vendors. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, vice-chancellor of Asia Pacific University, attended the launching ceremony as the chief guest along with Badiur Rahman, chairman of Al-Arafah Islami Bank, and Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager of MasterCard Bangladesh.

Islami Bank gets new chairman

Mustafa Anwar has been elected chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh, while Yousif Abdullah Al-Rajhi and NRM Borhan Uddin have been elected vice-chairmen. Anwar, who is the chairman and managing director of Birds Group, started his career as an engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board after completing his graduation in civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1964. Rajhi is the general manager-cum chief executive officer of Al-Rajhi Company for Industry and Trade, KSA. Borhan Uddin, who is currently chairman of audit committee of the bank, is the vice-chancellor of City University, Dhaka.

Muhith urges IDB to come out of traditional financing

Finance Minister of Bangladesh AMA Muhith has urged governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to push for a community-based partnership and come out of traditional financing models for a prosperous Islamic world. Muhith suggested leaders of the Islamic countries should work together to pull up the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) region towards achieving healthy human development and securing strong, sustainable economic growth. He was speaking to OIC leaders at the 40th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group at Maputo, Mozambique. Currently, IDB's support for low-income members is stymied by not just a lack of adequate development funds but by its relatively higher cost as well, Muhith said.

Three banks want more time to remove same-family directors

National Bank, City Bank and Premier Bank have failed to comply with the central bank's directive to bring down the number of directors from the same family to a maximum of two. The central bank last week asked four private banks to cut the number down in seven days. Only First Security Islami Bank complied with the directive within the deadline, according to Bangladesh Bank. The three other banks sought one to three more months to comply with the directive, but the regulator extended the deadline till October 30, a BB official said. National Bank has five directors from a family. City Bank has nine directors from two families. Four directors of Premier Bank come from one family.

IDB offers $44m for second undersea cable

The government of Bangladesh has signed a Tk 340 crore ($44 million) loan contract with Islamic Development Bank to install the second submarine cable for the country. The installation may complete by 2016, while Bangladesh entered a consortium in March this year. Monwar Hossain, managing director of Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL), said BSCCL has already paid $19.2 million to the consortium from its own fund. Bangladesh will have to spend a total of $72.5 million for the new cable. The IDB will provide $44 million, while BSCCL will spend $70 million from its own fund. The rate of interest for the loans will be LIBOR+1.35 percent and the loans will have to be repaid in 13 years.

Govt to probe profits of Islamic banks

In an attempt to check financing of militancy, the government will investigate how Islamic banks, including Islami Bank Bangladesh, and other financial institutions have spent their profits till date, said State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday. Intelligence personnel have been instructed to check whether there are any inconsistencies in the financial statements of the institutions, the minister added. Intelligence personnel will also intensify their vigilance in Chittagong Hill Tracts, as some NGOs in the name of Islam are carrying out suspicious activities there. The national committee will also launch a campaign against militancy involving eminent media personalities, said Asaduzzaman, adding that the government would intensify its monitoring on social media like Facebook.

Shahjalal Islami Bank director on five-day remand again

A Chittagong court yesterday placed Mohammad Solaiman, director of Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd, on a five-day remand in a case filed for misappropriating Tk 140 crore. Solaiman was on remand for seven days once before. Referring to an investigation of the bank, Farman R Chowdhury, managing director of the bank, said Solaiman had influenced the bank to lend Tk 140 crore to SK Steel and gave false assurances about the loan and Solaiman's company Paradise Corporation took over Tk 18 crore as bribe from SK Steel for this. On April 13, the case was filed accusing Solaiman and others.

Banks' dividends fail to lift investor confidence

Of the 30 listed banks in Bangladesh, 13 declared higher dividends than in the previous year, eight announced lower dividends, and eight the same, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange. Dutch-Bangla Bank came up with the highest amount of dividends—40 percent cash—for its general shareholders. ICB Islamic Bank gave no dividends. With the mixed trend in dividend declaration, the banking shares were unable to draw the investors' attention in the last couple of months, as corporate declarations from the sector could not fulfil retail investors' expectations. The banks' income from lending business declined in 2013 than the previous year due mainly to the political volatility. But thanks to the central bank's move of relaxing loan provisioning rules at the yearend, the banks could recover losses.

IFIC to become Islamic bank

Bangladesh's International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank (IFIC Bank) has decided to become a full-fledged Islamic bank. The proposal has already been approved by the bank's board, and the government, being the bank’s majority shareholder, has also given clearance. The conversion is now subject to approval from different regulators. Shah A Sarwar, managing director of the bank, could not give a definite time on how long the conversion process would take. The government holds 32.75 percent of the bank, directors and sponsors 11.31 percent, institutions 33.91 percent, foreign investors 0.28 percent and the rest 21.75 percent is held by the general public.

IIDFC reappoints managing director

Md Asaduzzaman Khan has recently been reappointed as managing director of IIDFC. A career central banker, Khan joined IIDFC after taking voluntary retirement as executive director of Bangladesh Bank in 2008. He is an MA in economics from Dhaka University and an MA in banking and finance from the University of Wales, UK. He was appointed as administrator of the then Oriental Bank Ltd (now ICB Islamic Bank Ltd) in July 2008. He was also the managing director of the security printing press of the central bank at Gazipur. He is also a director of ICB Capital Management Ltd, a member-cum-director of IIDFC Securities Ltd and a former director of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Sustainable banking is the way forward

According to chief the executive officer of Alternative Bank of Switzerland (ABS), financial institutions worldwide must change their profit-mongering mindset. It is essential for them to replace the current principles with value-based banking practices in order to be able to contribute to the economy. Martin Rohner pointed out that the banks need to be brought back to their original economic purpose. The value-based approach removes profit from its first place, thus taking away the pressure of shareholders. Instead of striving for maximum profit, banks are to serve the community and the environment.

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