Journalists decline money offered by National Bank at press conference
Towards the end of yesterday's press briefing, officials from the National Bank presented bags to the journalists covering the event.
Some journalists accepted the bags which had refreshment items inside, along with a National Bank diary. Then they found an envelope containing Tk5,000.
They, however, opted not to accept the envelopes containing money.
They reiterated their commitment to unbiased news coverage and some of them said they were uncomfortable with such an offering from the bank.
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Around 150 journalists and TV camera operators attended the National Bank press conference on Monday (6 May), where a gift bag was prepared for each attendee. The bank aimed to distribute around Tk7.5 lakh to journalists, with each envelope containing Tk5,000.
The rationale behind this gesture from the loss-making bank remains unclear.
As per the bank's annual report, it incurred a loss of Tk1,497 crore in 2023. This marks a reduction in losses by around 54% compared to the previous year when the bank's loss amounted to Tk3,285 crore. Despite the decrease, the loss figure remains considerably high.
Established in 1983, National Bank's Founding Chairman was (late) Zainul Haque Sikder, who owned the Sikder Group.
On 21 December last year, the Bangladesh Bank dissolved the board of the National Bank based on the recommendation of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
Syed Ferhat Anwar, a former professor at Dhaka University's Institute of Business Administration, was appointed as the new chairman of that board. Notably, two sons and the wife of Zainul Haque Sikder were excluded from the board, while Sikder's daughter, Parveen Haque Sikder, retained her position.
The central bank, however, did not include any members of the Sikder family to the board established on Sunday.
