Despite a number of Jatiya Party and independent lawmakers walking out of the house, the much controversial bill to amend the Bank Company Act 1991 was passed in the Parliament on Tuesday. The lawmakers who had objected to the passing of the bill were not even allowed to speak on the bill soon after a speech by Finance Minister AMA Muhith was delivered on it. We fail to understand why the protesting lawmakers were not given floor? Are we to assume the Parliament has gone into the grips of the ruling party completely?
However, the controversial bill, pursued by Bangladesh Association of Banks, an organisation of the private bank owners since 2016, would enable four members of a family to be directors of a bank – up from the previous two. The passage of the bill will also enable the directors to hold the post of directors for three consecutive terms or nine years – an increase from two-terms or six years. Understandably, it is another dubious mechanism for a private bank’s owners to practice unbridled and unchallenged authority over the bank’s management and finances.
The point, however, the owner of the banks are not actually the directors, it’s actually the depositors who collectively owns a bank. If we calculate the ratio, we come to see that in the case of most privately owned banks in the country – a bank is merely 10% of total risk weighted asset, while it would be hardly 3-4% of the total liability. So, if someone contributing 3-4% fund, could control over on 100%, it will be definitely discriminatory. And this is exactly what’s happening in the country’s most of the private banks. Most significantly, it is perhaps only in Bangladesh where Board of Directors continuously interferes with the management board, and surprisingly, they do it for disbursing bad loans appointing personally preferred employees and get indulged in illicit money related issues.
Be as it may, until November last year three MDs of The National Bank resigned in less than a year. The bank was until very recently functioning without a managing director for more than nine months. Also managing director of Meghna Bank has also allegedly been forced to resign.
Now with the passing of the bill, the last nail in the country’s ailing banking sector has been hammered. The objective behind passing of the bill is rather simple: quickly taking over the banks’ total control by exerting undue political influence. And it’s all happening with barely 11 months remaining for the country to go to the national polls.
For the innocent depositors we have only one thing to say – draw lessons from the actual causes behind the crumbling banking sector before depositing your hard earned money. The sector is on the brink of collapse.
