Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has served show cause notices upon four commercial banks for having more than two directors from the same family in their board of directors, official sources said.
BB, the apex bank of the country, on Sunday doled out the show cause notices to National Bank Ltd, City Bank Ltd, Premier Bank Ltd and First Security Islami Bank Ltd for violating Bank Company (Amendment) Act 2013, passed in the Parliament on July the same year.
According to a provision of the Act, two members of a family will not be allowed to appoint as the director of the same bank. But these private commercial banks have appointed more than two directors from a family.
Admitting the matter, the BB spokesperson and executive director Md Mahfuzur Rahman told The New Nation yesterday that the central bank has served separate notices to the authorities of those commercial banks, which have appointed more than two directors from a family.
“The central bank in its notice asked the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of those banks to give written explanation to its Banking Regulation and Policy Department (BRPD) within seven working days,” he said.
Rahman, however, said that the BB authorities would set next course of action after receiving explanation from the banks.
“Appointing two more directors from a family is an absolute violation of the Banking Company Act and BB being the country’s banking sector’s regulator cannot tolerate any violation of such a rule,” he added.
Sources said, the board of City Bank consists of 13 directors and it appointed five directors from a family. These directors are Rubel Aziz, Chairman, Aziz Al Kaiser, Aziz Al Mahmood, Tabassum Kaiser and Syeda Shaireen Aziz.
Besides, Deen Mohammad, Meherun Haque, Mohammad Shoeb and Evana Fahmida Mohammad, four of the directors of the bank came from a family.
Hossain Mehmood, Hossain Khaled, Rajibul Haque Chowdhury, Rafiqul Islam Khan and Sohail R K Hussain are the others director members of the City Bank.
Similarly, Zainul Haque Sikder is the Chairman of the National Bank Ltd. His wife Monowara Sikder, daughter Parveen Haque Sikder and two sons Rick Haque Sikder and Ron Haque Sikder are also the board members of the bank.
In Premier Bank, its Chairman HBM Iqbal, Moin Iqbal, Nawrin Iqbal and Mohammad Imran Iqbal are sitting in the board of the bank from the same family.
Md Saiful Alam, Chairman of the First Security Islami Bank Ltd., his sons Md Oheidul Alam and Ahsanul Alam are the board members of the bank.
