Agrani, BDBL, BASIC Bank MDs terminated

The government has terminated the remaining contractual tenures of the managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of three state-owned banks�"Agrani Bank, Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) and BASIC Bank.

The officials affected by the decision are Md Anwarul Islam of Agrani Bank PLC, Md Jashim Uddin of BDBL and Md Kamruzzaman Khan of BASIC Bank.

A notification issued by the Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday said the government had given its recommendation and consent to terminate the remaining contractual periods of the three bank chiefs.

The notification, signed by Deputy Secretary Afroza Akhtar Riba, said the respective boards of directors would complete the formalities for terminating their appointments in accordance with the Bank Company Act and the terms of their contracts.

Agrani Bank Chairman Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed, however, rejected speculation that the removal of its MD Md Anwarul Islam was linked to corruption or any financial irregularity.

He said the decision was part of an ongoing restructuring of state-owned banks aimed at appointing qualified professionals capable of implementing the banking policies of the new government.

“It is a routine administrative process and has nothing to do with corruption or irregularities,” he said.

Responding to questions about a Tk5 lakh fine imposed on Agrani Bank by Bangladesh Bank, the chairman said the penalty was a technical and legal matter arising from a delay in submitting information sought by an audit team.

Meanwhile, outgoing Agrani Bank MD Md Anwarul Islam said his departure followed the non-extension of his contractual appointment.

He said the dissolution of the bank's entire board of directors on Tuesday had also made his departure a natural consequence of the changing administrative arrangement.

On the Bangladesh Bank penalty, Islam said it resulted from delays in providing information to the audit team and that the audit process was still underway.

He said Agrani Bank had formally sought a waiver of the fine.