Ex-director's firm to acquire 2% shareholding in SBAC Bank

NY Trading Limited has announced its plan to purchase 2%, or 1.64 crore shares, of SBAC Bank from the secondary market of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

SBAC Bank's ex-director Mohammad Nawaz serves as managing director of NY Trading, a brokerage firm where his wife, Sufia Begum, currently holds a directorship in the bank.

According to the DSE, Sufia Begum also served as chairman of the brokerage firm.

Considering the current market price, the value of the SBAC Bank shares is around Tk13 crore, as the shares closed at Tk7.60 on Thursday (17 July).

When contacted, Mohammad Nawaz declined to comment on the matter.

Mohammad Nawaz became a director of the bank in 2015 after purchasing shares and served until 2023.

In 2020, he transferred 8.9 million shares of the bank to his wife. Later, in August 2024, he gifted her an additional 7 million shares. Following these transfers, his wife became a director of the bank.

Meanwhile, SBAC Bank ended 2024 with a provision shortfall of Tk810.75 crore, largely due to a surge in classified loans, according to its auditor's report.

The private lender's total required provisioning against loans, advances, and lease or investment rose sharply to Tk1,143 crore last year, up from Tk382 crore in 2023.

However, the bank managed to maintain provisions of only Tk487.17 crore, the auditor stated in its qualified opinion, citing a central bank letter dated 27 April. In 2023, it maintained provisions of Tk346.43 crore.

The bank's net profit dropped by 80% to just Tk10.94 crore in 2024 due to increased provisioning requirements.

Because of the provisioning shortfall, the bank has been barred from declaring any dividend for 2024. In 2023, it issued a 2% cash dividend to shareholders.

In the first quarter of this year, the bank reported a net profit of Tk11.28 crore with an EPS of Tk0.14, compared to Tk19.99 crore and an EPS of Tk0.24 in the same period last year.

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