3 state-run banks get new MDs

The government has appointed new managing directors (MDs) to three state-owned banks as the posts remained vacant for over a month. The Bank and Financial Division under the Finance Ministry yesterday issued a circular over the appointment the new MDs. According to the circular, Karmasangsthan Bank Managing Director Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud has been appointed as Sonali Bank MD while Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank Managing Director Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam as Agrani Bank MD, while Probashi Kallyan Bank Managing Director Ataur Rahman as Rupali Bank MD. Earlier on June 29, Bangladesh Bank dismissed Syed Abdul Hamid from his post of managing director in Agrani Bank over a loan scam.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2016/08/17/3-state-run-banks-get-new-mds/

Eight banks face capital shortfall

Higher capital requirement to meet Basel-III obligation and the deadweight of classified loans have resulted in capital shortfall in eight banks and substantial erosion in the surplus capital of 48 others. The aggregate capital surplus of all banks came down to BDT 10.8 billion as on March 31 from BDT 23.96 billion three months before, according to the central bank’s latest statistics. Under the roadmap for implementation of the Basel-III framework, the banks will have to maintain 10.6% of capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) under the Basel-III standard in 2016 instead of 10.0% for 2015. Such higher requirements have already come into effect from the Q1 of this calendar year aiming to strengthen stability in the banking sector, they explained. The banks will have to maintain 11.25% CRAR by 2017 and 11.88% by 2018. Finally in 2019, it will hit the desired level of 12.5%, according to the roadmap. The declining trend in surplus capital also pushed down the CRAR of all banks to 10.6% in the Q1 of this year. It was 10.8% of the previous quarter of the last year under Basel-III calculations. The amount of NPLs swelled by more than 15.0% to BDT 594.1 billion during the Q1 of this year from BDT 513.71 billion in the preceding quarter. The total regulatory capital rose to BDT 756.12 billion during the January-March period from BDT 753.5 billion in the final quarter of the last calendar year, the BB data showed.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/08/17/149399

MRA scraps licences of 95 MFIs for breach of rules

The licences of 95 microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been cancelled by the regulator for breach of set rules and regulations guiding micro-credit operations, officials said. Of the total, the licences of 79 MFIs were cancelled until July last since its inception while those of two were withheld, they said, adding that the licences of 16 MFIs approved temporarily have also been cancelled by the Micro-credit Regulatory Authority (MRA). Currently, 676 MFIs are registered with the regulator and 192 others have got licences temporarily from it. These registered NGOs are serving more than 40 million people of the country.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/08/16/42350

NBR sticks to levying VAT, Income Tax on savings tools’ sales commission received by banks

The revenue authority sticks to its decision to levy both VAT and income tax on banks’ commission against sales of government savings tools despite the central bank’s disagreement over such ‘double taxation’. Officials said the Value Added Tax (VAT) wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently clarified its stand following objection raised by the Bangladesh Bank. The government’s revenue board deducts 15% VAT and 10% income tax on the commission earned by the scheduled banks against the sale of prize bonds and different other savings tools issued by government for domestic borrowing. The BB earlier in a letter sought NBR’s opinion over the issue. It sought to know whether it is double taxation or double deduction of taxes on the commission. In response, the VAT policy wing said income tax and VAT are two different types of taxes which are enforced under different laws.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/08/17/149401

Last fiscal’s FDI flow touches USD 2.0 billion mark

The net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) touched USD 2.0 billionin the last fiscal year (FY16), according to the latest statistics available with Bangladesh Bank. The amount was 9.34% more than USD 1.83 billion received in the FY 15. It was for the first time that the country’s FDI inflow reached USD 2.0 billion in any fiscal year. In the calendar year (January-December) also, the FDI crossed the USD 2.0 billion mark, when the inflow stood at USD 2.23 billion in 2015. All the details of the last fiscal fiscal’s FDI inflow are not yet available. According to the data for first quarter (January to March) of the current calendar year available with the BB, 10 multi-national entities (MNEs) accounted for nearly half the net inflow in the country. The FDI from the 10 MNEs stood at USD 199.0 million during the period. The 10 MNEs include Chevron Bangladesh, Grameenphone, YKK Bangladesh, Standard Chartered Bank, British American Tobacco, HSBC, Young one (CEPZ), Berger Paints, Orascom Telecom and Nestle.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/08/17/149395

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) to borrow USD 184.5 million from China Exim Bank

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is set to borrow USD 184.5 million from China Exim Bank for the purchase of six new vessels, according to the GTR (Global Trade Review). The agreement marks the conclusion of a financial saga that stretches back four years, when BSC (Bangladesh Shipping Corporation) signed a memorandum with the Chinese government to purchase the ships, said the GTR, adding that the project was approved by the Bangladeshi government in 2015 and the ships are now set for a delivery date in 2018. The pricing of the loan is 2.0% over 20 years, with a five-year grace period, it said. According to the GTR, the framework is under that of Chinese government concessional loans. The loan will be disbursed in Chinese currency totaling Rmb1.2b, as per the request of the Bangladeshi government. The BSC is a state-owned but autonomously operated company which operates a fleet of ships and tankers typically used for exporting garments and importing crude oil from the Middle East, it said. Three of the vessels will be oil tankers. The other three are bulk carriers. Their addition will bring the total BSC fleet to 19 – the first upgrade it has undergone since the early 1990s, said the GTR.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/08/17/149394