Time to upgrade banks' IT security: top banker

The recent heist at Bangladesh Bank is a wakeup call for the banking sector to upgrade IT security, Golam Hafiz Ahmed, managing director of NCC Bank, said yesterday. Cyber attacks have taken place in other countries, but this was the first time for Bangladesh, and the country was not prepared, Ahmed said at a press briefing at NCC Bank's headquarters on the occasion of its 23rd founding anniversary.

 “This incident jolted us from slumber. The firewalls now existing for our IT management have to be changed.”

NCC Bank has opened a separate division for IT management after the incident, said Shamsur Rahman Chowdhury, head of the bank's information technology division. Initiatives have to be taken to improve the security system, he said. NCC Bank will complete its measures to improve IT security in six months. AZM Saleh, its deputy managing director, said the bank lowered the interest rate on loans to increase investment; its current rate on loans is between 10 percent and 12 percent, while it was 16-17 percent earlier.

Saleh said the bank could not cut the interest rate on deposits at the same pace as its lending rate. The bank has a pile of deposits that will mature after more than 10 years at a rate that is very high, he added.

The bank was set up as an investment company 23 years ago, and now it is functioning as a large commercial bank, he added.

The bank made a profit of Tk 97 crore in the first quarter of this year, he said. The bank's profit was Tk 386 crore last year.

With 104 branches across the country, NCC Bank has agreements with 27 firms in various countries for the transfer of remittance to Bangladesh.