NRBC left without govt funds after media reports
Chairman of the private bank says
The government agencies have withdrawn their funds, amounting to Tk 500 crore, from NRB Commercial Bank recently due to media reports on its precarious financial position, the bank's Chairman Tamal SM Parvez said yesterday.
He, however, claimed that the general public is yet to pull out funds from the bank, in an encouraging signal for the fourth generation bank.
At present, the embattled bank's deposit stands at Tk 4,700 crore, he said at a press conference to disclose the bank's latest financial performance.
The bank's classified loans are now less than 2 percent of its outstanding loans, according to Parvez. "Some directors had recommended sanctioning loans to the tune of Tk 250 crore."
Of the sum, the bank has already recovered Tk 100 crore and is now trying to recover its problematic loans -- about Tk 150 crore -- within the next six months, according to Parvez.
The new NRBC chairman acknowledged that there were some irregularities in loan sanctions and disbursements. "But it has not become a matter of concern yet."
In some cases, the media reports exaggerated the irregularities and this had an adverse impact on the bank, he said.
On allegations of anonymous shares in NRBC, he said: "The bank has not been involved in holding anonymous shares -- there is no scope."
Parvez said the bank will introduce new credit and deposit products for non-resident Bangladeshis with the view to opening a new window for foreign investment.
NRBC restructured its board of directors on December 10 last year to restore corporate governance and depositors' confidence in the bank. The four-year-old bank had reformed its board in line with the central bank directives, according to Bangladesh Bank officials.
The banking regulator also removed NRBC's Managing Director Dewan Mujibur Rahman last month over his alleged involvement in a number of loan scandals.
In November 2016, the central bank found 10 counts of wrongdoings by the NRBC board, including violation of credit norms to sanction loans amounting to over Tk 701 crore and outsiders being often allowed to attend meetings.
The BB found former Mercantile Bank chairman Shahidul Ahsan had drawn benefits from nearly Tk 44 crore-worth shares held by two sponsor-directors in NRBC, which is a breach of the banking companies act.
"Ahsan is the actual beneficiary of the shares held by two NRBC directors -- Kamrun Nahar Sakhi and ABM Abdul Mannan," said the BB probe report, adding that it meant the shares were forfeitable.
Ahsan represented Sakhi, who lives in Canada, in an annual general meeting of NRBC. He also attended several meetings of the bank's board and the executive committee breaching the rules.