Janata to roll out merchant banking

Janata Bank is set to begin full-fledged merchant banking in the first week of March, aiming to contribute to the liquidity inflow into the stock market.
“We have taken all preparations to start the activities. The launch will not exceed the first week of March,” said SM Aminur Rahman, managing director of Janata Bank.
As the bank has deposits of around Tk 19,000 crore, it will be able to ensure liquidity to the stock market, Rahman said. “Not only that, we will also work for the development of the capital market."
The bank yesterday received the full-fledged merchant banking licence from the stock market regulator. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi handed over the licence to Janata Bank Deputy Managing Director Jahangir Miah.
The responsibilities of a full-fledged merchant bank include underwriting, issue management, portfolio management and lending to stock investors. Along with Janata Bank, the total number of merchant banks now stands at 29.
Of all the merchant banks now licensed, only about 10 are active in banking transactions.
Of the 29 merchant banks, 24 have full-fledged merchant banking licences, four have only issue management licences and one has approval for portfolio management.
The SEC considers awarding more merchant bank licences. "We have completed the preliminary work needed to award more merchant bank licences and hope to issue them very soon,” said Farhad Ahmed, executive director of SEC.
Presently, six applications from commercial banks and at least one application from a non-banking financial institution are pending with the SEC for merchant banking licences.
The aspirants are Southeast Bank, One Bank, National Bank, City Bank, Eastern Bank and MIDAS Finance.
sarwar@thedailystar.net