SBAC Bank chair steps down

SM Amjad Hossain, chairman of South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank, has expressed his intention to resign, citing illness.

On September 7, he wrote to the board of the private commercial lender expressing the intention to step down.

He also requested the board to begin the process of selecting a new chairman by October.

"If the process is completed before the month, I'm ready to resign earlier," Hossain said in the letter.

The board will discuss the issue in a meeting on September 26, said a top official of the bank, preferring anonymity.

"We will decide whether the resignation letter will be accepted or not."

Hossain has been serving the board as its chief since the inception of the bank in 2013.

Hossain is facing probes over irregularities.

On March 11, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit asked banks to freeze the accounts of Hossain, his wife Begum Sufia Amjad and their daughter Miss Tajori for 30 days.

The agency also sought the details of the accounts.

Earlier on January 7, the Anti-Corruption Commission banned them from travelling abroad. It urged the Special Branch of police to impose the ban.

The ban was slapped as part of the commission's investigation into loan-related irregularities perpetrated by Hossain.

Hossain holds a 3.21 per cent share in the bank.

Shares of SBAC Bank, which went public in August, closed 2.38 per cent higher at Tk 21.50 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.