Banking Tips

Tahia Khalil, Director & Head of Wholesale Bank, Operational Risk, Wholesale Bank, Standard Chartered Bank

In a partnership account, if one partner dies, what happens to the account?
According to the law, if there is no agreement to the contrary the death of a partner dissolves the partnership which then must be liquidated. Therefore, upon receipt of notification of the death of one of the partners the legal status of the account will be ascertained before further operation of the account is permitted since the death may result in dissolution of the partnership.

The bank should do the following while opening a partnership account:
a) Verify the existence of the partnership and therefore its legal capacity to enter into binding contract.

b) Identify the partner or partners negotiating the opening of an account and

c) Verify their authority to do so.

How would the Bank verify the above?
a) The certificate of registration or alternatively the Trade License and the partnership deed is good enough evidence that the partnership exists and therefore it can enter into a binding contract including the opening of a bank account.

b) It is imperative that the identity of the parties who make contract with the Bank is established beyond any reasonable doubt, although it is not always practical to identify all of them personally.

c) Having satisfied itself as to the partnership's legal capacity and the identity and reputation of the partners, the Bank will seek to establish the authority of the party requesting the opening of the account.

When can a Power of Attorney be revoked?
a) Where any time limit is expressed and that time has elapsed.

b) Where the purpose expressed in the power has been attained.

c) When the donor revokes the power.

d) Upon mental incapacity or death of the donor.

e) Upon mental incapacity or death of the attorney.

f) When attorney renounces his/her power by giving notice to the donor.

How many nominees can be assigned in an account?
There can be more than one nominee in an account with share percentage as in Sanchaypatras. The nominee forms will tend to look different in different banks However, they are based on the Banking Companies Act and guidelines given by Bangladesh Bank.

Dr.firdous Quader Minu M.B.B.S, D.L.O ENT, Head-Neck & Cosmetic Surgeon Consultant, Cosmetic Surgery Centre

Dear Doctor
I am a 25 year old man and I have a scar below my jaw which was caused by an infection I had when I was a child. It's about 2x3cm and there is no hair growing in that area so it looks very odd. Is there anyway this can be fixed so that hair grows in that area?

Yes of course we can help you. You probably had some kind of abscess as a child. A scar revision surgery can be done to remove the scar, making sure that a hair-bearing flap replaces that area. That way hair will grow in that area and it won't look so bad anymore.

Dear Doctor
I have a son who was born with a cleft lip that was repaired when he was a baby. Now he is 16 years old and there is a really bad scar in that area. Also his nose on that side looks flat. Can this be fixed? He is very self-conscious about this.

A child needs a reconstruction of the nose after a cleft lip repair as sometimes it's not possible to repair it at the time of surgery. Firstly for the scar, a scar revision treatment needs to be done. The nose reconstruction therapy (Rhinoplasty) can be done during the same sitting to improve the shape as much as possible. It's very important to get the surgeries done as soon as possible as children go about a lot and they get teased by other children and so they become self-conscious about their appearances. This may lower their self esteem.

Dear Doctor
I have been suffering from a dry cough for a long time. There is no excretion but there is an irritation in my throat most of the time. Thus I have to clear it a lot. Also at times my nose feels blocked. I have taken various kinds of cough syrups but they didn't help much. Is there any way you can assist?

Well the best thing for you would be to see an ENT specialist. It sounds like you might have a sinus infection or a chronic infection of the pharynx. Whichever it may be, it's not possible to diagnose without examining you and maybe an x-ray of the sinuses. A cough syrup will not be of much help.

Make sure you have a teaspoon of honey every morning. Certain anti-oxidants and vitamins found in honey are known to lower cholesterol, according to several research findings. For at least 2700 years, honey has been used to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

On A Different Note

The weightlifters

Baba re, tor ei boyeshe koto bhari bojha tante hoi...' (My son, you have to haul such a burden at such an age…') This was a comment that one stranger gave to another. I overheard this when I was sitting on a rickshaw with two of my cousins. Our rickshaw puller was the one who received this sympathetic comment from a passer-by, and I was one of those who was adding a burden to the poor fellow who was clearly still in his teens.

Why is it that one feels a sudden sympathy for an unknown person? I hear many people complaining about how no one cares anymore about the world and its people. Yet, sometimes, unexpectedly, we come across a sudden show of kindness that leaves us wondering why there aren't more such people. A few words can bring about a huge change, and a few words of kindness can change a lot. When our rickshawala heard the comment, it changed him too. From the grim and tired boy that he was before, he became a smiling and lighthearted person. These are people who have a huge load on their shoulders; they have no limits to their hardships and meagre means to reduce them, no matter how hard they try. Yet their resilience and effort is quite awe-inspiring.

A few days ago, I came across another person that I admire. He works as a small entrepreneur selling accessories made out of shells on the over-bridge that I have to cross everyday to go to my university. He must be seven or eight at most, and he caught my attention when he politely requested me to check out his goods. What impressed me most was that he knew his English alphabet really well. I was looking for key rings with one letter embossed on them and he had no trouble finding me the letter I asked him for.

Who wants to sit for hours on end on an overheated iron over bridge with only a skimpy and torn umbrella for protection from the glaring Bangladeshi sun of June? No one; not even someone who wants a good tan; and definitely not this kid. But unlike many of us, he doesn't have an option.

On the other hand there are some people who take up a burden just because they feel like it, or because they think it's the right thing to do, but not because they are forced to do so by circumstances. One day while returning home by bus from classes I found myself in a packed bus with no place to sit. Before I had a chance to get off (since the prospect of standing all the way from Mohakhali to Mirpur was not at all appealing), the bus was moving, and I was swaying to and fro in the middle of the moving bus. At that point I had given up all hope of having a chance to sit down for the next thirty minutes. Surprisingly however, a young man sitting right in front of me immediately rose to offer me his seat. There was no need for him to do that, yet he took the initiative to help a lone girl forced to stand in a bus crowded with men.

What's more strange is that there were plenty of educated and sophisticated looking people seated on that bus, yet no one bothered to do what that simple person kindly did. Kindness, and that too at the time of need is truly a rare virtue…

By Fahima Bintee Jamal