bKash moves to combat abuse of its logo in eight countries

Mobile money company bKash has taken steps to register its logo in eight Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian nations to prohibit the unauthorized use of its logo to remit money illegally to Bangladesh. In several countries with large numbers of Bangladeshis, people are illegally using bKash and the logos of some other popular mobile money brands like Rocket to provide remittance services. To stop the illegal use of its logo, bKash began the process of registering it in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Singapore and Malaysia, said Kamal Quadir, chief executive of bKash. Bangladesh’s biggest mobile money company has also appointed law firms in those countries to serve legal notices on illicit money traders, he added.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/bkash-moves-combat-abuse-its-logo-eight-countries-1350961

Bank farm loan release through NGOs up on 25.0% interest

The scheduled banks disbursed BDT 53.7 billion in farm loans through the linkage of non-governmental organisations with an interest rate at 25.0% in the last financial year. Farmers are supposed to get agriculture loans at 10.0% interest rate from the banks directly. The central bank earlier took a number of attempts to decrease the disbursement of farm loans through the NGO linkage, but the distributions of the loans sharply increased through NGOs. According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, the banks disbursed 32.8% or BDT 53.71 billion in farm loans against their annual loan disbursement target of BDT 164.0 billion in the FY16. The banks disbursed BDT 48.3 billion in farm loans in the FY15 and BDT 33.5 billion in FY14 through the NGO linkage. The BB earlier asked the banks to disburse at least 30.0% of farm loan in their own capacity against their fiscal target as some banks distribute their whole annual target of such loans through the NGO linkage.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/7813/bank-farm-loan-release-through-ngos-up-on-25pc-interest

Ehsan Khasru joins Global Economist Forum as adviser

Md Ehsan Khasru has been elected as an adviser to the Global Economist Forum-Bangladesh, a consultant organisation of the United Nations. He is an adviser to the board of Premier Bank, the bank said in a statement yesterday. Khasru started his banking career in 1983 as a probationary officer at National Bank, according to the statement. He obtained an MBA degree from the Institute of Business Administration under Dhaka University after completing his graduation in economics from the same university, the bank said.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/ehsan-khasru-joins-global-economist-forum-adviser-1350892

Life insurance in the doldrums

The life insurance sector recorded 3.77 percent growth in 2016 even though nearly half of the companies saw their incomes decline. The 31 life insurers earned gross premium amounting to Tk 7,679 crore last year, according to data from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority. Of the 31 life insurers, 14 witnessed negative growth in its premium earnings. Life Insurance Corporation of India, which entered the Bangladesh market last year, was excluded from the list. But many of the insurers failed to net new business and renewal of existing policies. Some insurers said their premium income went down, mainly due to payments against matured policies.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/life-insurance-the-doldrums-1351000