Muhith admits mistake in picking bank board directors

Finance Minister AMA Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith today said there had been mistakes on the government part in selecting people for the boards of state-owned banks.

“We had many mistakes in our choice…There was a weakness in monitoring the banks,” he said.

Muhith was speaking to reporters after a function at the finance ministry on dividend cheque handover by UBICO, a UAE-Bangladesh joint venture company.

Responding to a question on state-owned banks’ various scams, he said some fraudulent incidents took place because of politically-appointed people in the boards of the banks.

He said the government is now paying attention towards strengthening bank monitoring activities.

At the function, Banking Division secretary and chairman of UAE-Bangladesh Investment Company (UBICO) Dr Aslam Alam handed over a cheque of Tk 72.68 lakh to the finance minister.

The UBICO was formed in 1987 with 60 percent equity from United Arab Emirates and 40 percent from Bangladesh to promote investment in medium and small enterprise sector in Bangladesh.

The UBICO chairman informed the finance minister that the company has regularly been providing dividends to the government for the last seven years alongside financing the SME sector.

Appreciating the UBICO’s performance in recent years, Dr Aslam said Saudi Arabia and the UAE came forward in the 70s to help Bangladesh in its development sector. SABINCO was such a company formed in joint venture with Saudi Arabia.

“Both SABINCO and UBICO have been playing a significant role in development of Bangladesh,” he said.

He said when there are many scams in state-owned banks the dividend by UBICO is good news. “This is a happy time for the government.”

UBICO managing director Dr SM Akbar also spoke at the function.