Govt cancels contractual appointments of Agrani, BASIC and BDBL MDs

The government has cancelled the remaining tenure of the contractual appointments of the managing directors (MDs) of three state-owned banks – Agrani Bank PLC, BASIC Bank PLC and Bangladesh Development Bank PLC (BDBL).

The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance issued separate notifications to the three banks today (2 September).

The notifications, signed by Deputy Secretary Afroza Akter Riba, instructed the chairmen of the respective banks' boards of directors to take the necessary legal and regulatory measures to terminate the contracts.

The three MDs are Md Anwarul Islam of Agrani Bank, Md Quamruzzaman Khan of BASIC Bank and Md Jasim Uddin of BDBL.

According to the notifications, the government has recommended and consented to cancelling the remaining tenure of their contractual appointments in accordance with the Bank Company Act and the agreements signed with the respective boards.

The boards have been directed to take the necessary steps to formally terminate the contracts, the notifications said.

Banking sector sources said the move is part of the government's efforts to overhaul the management of state-owned banks following the political change and ongoing reforms in the financial sector.

There have been allegations that some contractual appointments to senior positions at state-owned banks during the previous government were influenced by political considerations and the interests of particular groups.

State-owned banks, including BASIC Bank, Agrani Bank and BDBL, have also been grappling with high levels of non-performing loans and capital constraints.

An official of the Financial Institutions Division said the government has undertaken initiatives to overhaul the management of state-owned banks to strengthen corporate governance and restore depositors' confidence in the banking sector.