IBBL needs more changes to ‘end irregularities’

Massive changes are required in Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) in order to end irregularities there, said Syed Ahsanul Alam, the new vice-chairman of the bank. The IBBL has abruptly announced major changes in its three top positions—chairman, vice-chairman, and managing director (MD).
The reshuffling apparently took place on Thursday at a meeting of the board of directors of the bank, which is widely believed to be run by pro-Jamaat-e-Islami men.
However, sources said that the changes were brought about in the Shariah-based bank following instructions from senior government officials. Arastoo Khan, an ex-bureaucrat who was earlier the chairman of Commerce Bank, was appointed chairman of IBBL, replacing Mustafa Anowar.
At the board meeting, the bank’s vice-chairman Azizul Haque resigned from his post. The board of directors also replaced the bank’s MD Mohammad Abdul Mannan with Abdul Hamid Mia, ex-MD of Union Bank. Mustafa Anowar, the outgoing chairman, is a representative of Ibn Sina, which is run by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. He has also resigned from the post of director and the bank’s foundation team. Arastoo Khan resigned from the position of chairman of Commerce Bank to join the IBBL. He has been appointed as one of the directors of the bank on behalf of Armada Spinning Mills. When contacted, the new chairman of the IBBL, Arastoo Khan, did not make any comment regarding his future plans. He only said that it is a really important task for him.
He also said that he has just joined as chairman of the IBBL and resigned from his earlier post.
The IBBL is the pioneer of Islamic banking in Bangladesh. It was incorporated on March 13, 1983, as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1913, with a shareholding structure that was 36.91 per cent domestic and 63.09 per cent foreign, mostly from the Middle East.
The IBBL has 307 branches, including 57 AD branches and three offshore banking units. It had 13,229 employees as on December 2015.
It is the largest private banking network in Bangladesh. Sources said that the Islami Bank Foundation—a wing of the IBBL—runs 19 hospitals, 16 polytechnic institutes, three nursing colleges, three dental colleges, and a number of English-medium schools and madrasas across the country. The bank spends Tk. 19 crore per year towards corporate social responsibility, of which Tk. 8 crore is received by activists of the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibiur, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islamai.
The sources gave the example of two madrasas run by the foundation—one in Ramu of Cox’s Bazar and the other in Chunoti in Lohagara of Chittagong—where around 1,600 students study. The foundation shows a loss of Tk. 50,000 per month. The management could provide proper accounts to the government in this regard. Similarly, the Islami Bank Hospital pays a rent of Tk. 2,000 per square feet for a building in Rajshahi, which is clearly an irregularity. This is how the foundation provides money to Shibir activists. The sources also said that the bank provides loans to activists following the rules and regulation, but not to general loan seekers. They added that the bank management would provide activists with loans less than Tk. 51 crore so that there would be no need to take approval from the board. The sources further said that the bank refused to open an account for the owner of Anwara Jute Mill in Chittagaon for six months, giving different excuses and not providing any kind of facilities.

IBBL needs more changes to end irregularities

Massive changes are required in Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) in order to end irregularities there, said Syed Ahsanul Alam, the new vice-chairman of the bank. The IBBL has abruptly announced major changes in its three top positionschairman, vice-chairman, and managing director (MD). The reshuffling apparently took place on Thursday at a meeting of the board of directors of the bank, which is widely believed to be run by pro-Jamaat-e-Islami men. However, sources said that the changes were brought about in the Shariah-based bank following instructions from senior government officials. Arastoo Khan, an ex-bureaucrat who was earlier the chairman of Commerce Bank, was appointed chairman of IBBL, replacing Mustafa Anowar. At the board meeting, the banks vice-chairman Azizul Haque resigned from his post. The board of directors also replaced the banks MD Mohammad Abdul Mannan with Abdul Hamid Mia, ex-MD of Union Bank. Mustafa Anowar, the outgoing chairman, is a representative of Ibn Sina, which is run by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. He has also resigned from the post of director and the banks foundation team. Arastoo Khan resigned from the position of chairman of Commerce Bank to join the IBBL. He has been appointed as one of the directors of the bank on behalf of Armada Spinning Mills. When contacted, the new chairman of the IBBL, Arastoo Khan, did not make any comment regarding his future plans. He only said that it is a really important task for him. He also said that he has just joined as chairman of the IBBL and resigned from his earlier post. The IBBL is the pioneer of Islamic banking in Bangladesh. It was incorporated on March 13, 1983, as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1913, with a shareholding structure that was 36.91 per cent domestic and 63.09 per cent foreign, mostly from the Middle East. The IBBL has 307 branches, including 57 AD branches and three offshore banking units. It had 13,229 employees as on December 2015. It is the largest private banking network in Bangladesh. Sources said that the Islami Bank Foundationa wing of the IBBLruns 19 hospitals, 16 polytechnic institutes, three nursing colleges, three dental colleges, and a number of English-medium schools and madrasas across the country. The bank spends Tk. 19 crore per year towards corporate social responsibility, of which Tk. 8 crore is received by activists of the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibiur, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islamai. The sources gave the example of two madrasas run by the foundationone in Ramu of Coxs Bazar and the other in Chunoti in Lohagara of Chittagongwhere around 1,600 students study. The foundation shows a loss of Tk. 50,000 per month. The management could provide proper accounts to the government in this regard. Similarly, the Islami Bank Hospital pays a rent of Tk. 2,000 per square feet for a building in Rajshahi, which is clearly an irregularity. This is how the foundation provides money to Shibir activists. The sources also said that the bank provides loans to activists following the rules and regulation, but not to general loan seekers. They added that the bank management would provide activists with loans less than Tk. 51 crore so that there would be no need to take approval from the board. The sources further said that the bank refused to open an account for the owner of Anwara Jute Mill in Chittagaon for six months, giving different excuses and not providing any kind of facilities.