December 09, 2009

Bangladesh Development Bank starts Journey from January 3, 2010

Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd (BDBL), which was shaped up by a merger between Bangladesh Shilpa Bank and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha, will start its full-fledged operations across the country from January 3.

The maiden board meeting of the BDBL approved yesterday the merger and took the decision on starting operations.

The authorised capital of the new bank is Tk 1,000 crore, while its paid-up capital is Tk 400 crore, a BDBL statement said.

Before the start of the banking operations, a vendor agreement will be signed between the government and the BDBL as a legal compliance.

For long, both the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha had been facing crisis in their respective operations as a huge amount of loans disbursed by them remained unrealised.

At one stage, the government was thinking about privatising the two enterprises. But the Awami League government turned the duo into a new bank through the merger.

However, it is not known yet whether the BDBL will operate as a commercial bank or a specialised one.

BDBL Chairman Nazem Ahmed Chowdhury presided over the first board meeting, attended by directors Shanti Narayan Ghosh, Dewan Nazrul Islam, Niaz Rahman, Amalendu Mukharjee, Humayun Kabir, Khalilur Rahman Siddiqui, Ishak Bhuiyan, Salima Ahmed and Managing Director Mizanur Rahman.

The chairman of the bank said the government recently formed the BDBL through the merger of the two entities to promote the country's industrial sector.

>> The Daily Star, December 09, 2009

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