Express (July 06, 2011)
The central bank is going to start the process for issuing lincences for establishing new commercial banks in the country, officials said Tuesday.
"We've received a letter from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in this connection," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE, adding that the central bank will place a proposal to its board of directors seeking a decision on the issue.
"We'll act in line with our higher authority's decision," the central bank official said without elaborating.
"After announcement of advertisement by the BB, the interested entrepreneurs will have to apply for licence to establish a new bank," the central bank official said.
The BB will finalise a guideline by the end of this month, setting out the details that the intending sponsors will have to follow while filing applications for setting up new banks.
He also said the central bank will not consider the applications, which were earlier submitted to the BB.
The BB's latest move came after the government announcement to invite applications from entrepreneurs willing to establish new banks and life insurance companies from July this year.
On June 29 last, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the parliament that the government would invite applications from entrepreneurs willing to establish new banks and life insurance companies from the next month.
The BB officials, however, said the central bank officials have started preparations to submit a proposal in this connection to its Board shortly.
"Normally, the central bank publishes an advertisement with a prescribed form for inviting applications for establishing new banks," another BB official said, adding that the central bank will follow a policy to issue licence for new banks.
"The BB did not issue any lincece to establish bank after 2001," the central bank official noted.
Currently, a total of 47 commercial banks are in operation in the country.
The Awami League government during its earlier tenure between 1996 and 2001 allowed a good number of new banks and insurance companies to start operations.
Prior to that, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government had issued licences to some PCBs for operations in the early 1990s.
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