Sonali, Janata get new chairmen
Both the chairmen were appointed for the next three years
The government has appointed new chairmen for two state-owned commercial banks – Sonali and Janata.
The Financial Institution Division of the Finance Ministry issued two different circulars in this regard on Tuesday.
According to the circulars, Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank has been appointed chairman of Sonali Bank, and Dr. Jamaluddin Ahmed, director of Bangladesh Bank and general secretary of Bangladesh Economic Association, has been appointed chairman of Janata Bank.
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Both chairmen were appointed for the next three years, the circular said.
In an instant reaction, Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui told The Business Standard that, “after the formalities of appointment, I will take action after I find out the problems of the bank.”
“I will try to recover the reputation of Sonali bank” he added.
The managing directors of the two banks have been notified of the appointments, and they have been directed to finalise the appointment process with approval from Bangladesh Bank as per the Bank Company Act 1991.
Non-performing loans are the main problem for state-owned commercial banks. Until March 2019, the value of Sonali Bank’s default loans was Tk 12,237 crore, which is 29.26 percent of the bank’s total loans, according to BB data.
According to a Bangladesh Bank report, the value of Janata Bank’s total default loans until March this year was Tk 21,410 crore, which is 43 .97 percent of their total loans.
