Use ICAB to verify borrowers’ info, regulator asks banks | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
Use ICAB to verify borrowers’ info, regulator asks banks

Banking

TBS Report
06 July, 2021, 10:10 pm
Last modified: 06 July, 2021, 10:16 pm

Related News

  • Bundle worth Tk2,000 priced at Tk3,500: New currency notes scarce at banks, sold at inflated prices in open market
  • ICAB terms proposed budget business-friendly, welcomes steps to broaden tax net
  • Freshly designed banknotes hit Dhaka banks tomorrow
  • Agricultural credit recovery increases by 8% in July-March 
  • BB asks banks to ensure smooth ATM, MFS services during Eid vacation

Use ICAB to verify borrowers’ info, regulator asks banks

The central bank states that a proper utilisation of ICAB’s Documents Verification System will boost credit discipline and cut down defaulted loans in the banking sector

TBS Report
06 July, 2021, 10:10 pm
Last modified: 06 July, 2021, 10:16 pm
Use ICAB to verify borrowers’ info, regulator asks banks

The Bangladesh Bank issued a circular on Tuesday directing scheduled banks to utilise the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh's (ICAB) Documents Verification System for online verification of institutional borrowers' financial information.

The circular further states that a proper utilisation of this system will boost credit discipline and cut down defaulted loans in the country's banking sector.

At least 2 lakh companies are registered in Bangladesh, and among them, around 1.55 lakh are currently in businesses here. ICAB members conduct audits on about 16,000 of these companies, and the banks can verify their information using the institute's Documents Verification System.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"The rest are not audited by ICAB members, and in many cases, these companies are confusing the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Bangladesh Bank by using fraudulent documents," ICAB Council Member Md Forkan Uddin FCA told The Business Standard.

Such malpractice allows these companies to present a lower amount of payable taxes to the NBR, but a comparatively higher tax amount to the central bank – which helps them secure large amounts of loan, he added.

The ICAB states that a scheduled bank – utilising the Documents Verification System developed jointly by the institute and NBR – will be able to verify all necessary information about any audited institutional borrower.

When properly utilised, this verification system will allow the NBR to identify companies that are evading taxes by submitting fraudulent documents, which in turn will positively impact Bangladesh's revenue earnings.

Moreover, the Bangladesh bank will be able to verify information about companies seeking loans to help cut down the number of defaulters and defaulted loans. Aside from the central bank and the NBR, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Reporting Council also have access to the Documents Verification System.

Providing more details, ICAB Council Member Md Forkan Uddin FCA said, "As of now, four agencies will be able to use our system free of charge. Scheduled banks operating under the Bangladesh Bank will also get this facility.

"There are however legal hurdles against allowing any other private organisations or individuals to access the Documents Verification System. We are currently working on the issue. But we are certain that the Bangladesh Bank and the NBR's effective use of this system will ensure more transparency in the country's financial sector."

He further said, "We began working jointly with the NBR on this system in 2020. With the board's initiative, the system became operational on December 1. Along with the necessary information about audited companies, the system database will have five key figures."

Lauding the move, ICAB President Mahmudul Hasan Khusru FCA said, "The Bangladesh Bank has taken a very right decision. From now on, banks will have to verify the information in audited financial statements that are filed for taking out loans.

"This will help improve good governance and bring significant improvement in the financial eco-structure of Bangladesh. We are delighted, and we express our heartiest gratitude to the government for allowing us to be a part of the country's economic development to a greater extent by utilising this IT technology. We are ready to provide more support in this regard."

The Bangladesh Bank's circular said during the verification process, a scheduled bank must crosscheck the financial statement submitted by a company seeking loans using the ICAB's Documents Verification System.

Under the existing rules, banks check whether a borrower's financial statement is audited and signed by an approved firm. But now, they will be able to complete this process online through the ICAB's system.

The regulator – under the Bank Company Act, 1991 – has directed the scheduled banks to contact ICAB under their own initiative to get access to this database.

On 4 January this year, the Bangladesh Bank made it mandatory for banks to collect and preserve updated Statutory Audit Report, audited by chartered accountants, in file before approving and renewing a loan to a company.

Bangladesh / Economy / Top News

Bangladesh Bank / ICAB / Documents Verification

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Screenshots of the Air India plane taking off and exploding before crashing in Ahmedabad on 12 June. Photo: BSS/AFP
    'Many killed' as Air India plane with 242 on board crashes near India's Ahmedabad airport
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Bangladesh considering settlements with tycoons over offshore wealth: Mansur tells FT
  • Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury speaks to journalists in Salna, Gazipur, on 12 June 2025. Photo: TBS
    No bar to Tarique Rahman returning to Bangladesh: Home adviser

MOST VIEWED

  • File photo of ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Photo: Collected
    Joy spends Eid with Hasina in India: Indian media
  • Infofgraphics: TBS
    DGHS issues 11-point directive to prevent spread of Covid-19 in Bangladesh
  • Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    UK crime agency now freezes assets of ex-land minister Saifuzzaman: AJ
  • File photo of BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    Khasru flies to London ahead of Yunus-Tarique meeting
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks at the Chatham House in London on 11 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    No desire to be part of next elected govt: CA Yunus
  • Illustration: Khandaker Abidur Rahman/TBS
    Three hospitals ‘held hostage’ as discharged July uprising injured keep occupying beds

Related News

  • Bundle worth Tk2,000 priced at Tk3,500: New currency notes scarce at banks, sold at inflated prices in open market
  • ICAB terms proposed budget business-friendly, welcomes steps to broaden tax net
  • Freshly designed banknotes hit Dhaka banks tomorrow
  • Agricultural credit recovery increases by 8% in July-March 
  • BB asks banks to ensure smooth ATM, MFS services during Eid vacation

Features

Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

22h | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

1d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

3d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

5d | Bangladesh

More Videos from TBS

When will coronavirus testing start in hospitals?

When will coronavirus testing start in hospitals?

6m | TBS Today
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury's property seized in UK

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury's property seized in UK

1h | TBS Today
A tragic accident has occurred in Ahmedabad, India, involving an Air India Boeing 787

A tragic accident has occurred in Ahmedabad, India, involving an Air India Boeing 787

1h | TBS World
Delhi on Boil: Red Alert as Temperatures Soar

Delhi on Boil: Red Alert as Temperatures Soar

3h | TBS Stories
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net