Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman has asked all banks to improve their internal control and compliance for checking fraud and forgeries.
“You’ve to improve your internal control and compliance for ensuring good governance in the country’s banking sector,” BB Governor Dr. Rahman said while addressing at an award giving ceremony on Saturday.
The programme was organised by the Prime Bank Foundation at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the capital in the morning to provide stipends to 372 students for 2015.
The central bank chief advised the board of directors of the banks to include more independent directors if necessary for improving their internal control and compliance.
“We’re taking actions against any irregularities as per the existing rules and regulations for ensuring good governance in the country’s banking sector,” Dr. Rahman noted.
He also instructed the banks for taking necessary measures to properly implement the existing core risk guidelines to minimise their financial risks.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier identified six core risk areas in the country’s banking sector. The risk factors are: credit, asset and liability, foreign exchange, information technology, internal control and compliance, and money laundering.
The BB Governor also advised the banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to facilitate education through expediting their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities.
Under the existing CSR guidelines, the banks and NBFIs are allowed to expend around 30 per cent and 20 per cent of total CSR funds to facilitate education and healthcare supports respectively.
Education and job focused vocational training being crucial in widening advancement opportunities for the underprivileged population segments, around 30 per cent of total CSR expenditure should be for scholarships/stipends for students from low income family in reputed academic and vocational training institutions, according to the guidelines.
“We expect that the banks and NBFIs will come forward with sacrificing attitude for improving the quality of education through strengthening their CSR activities,” BB Governor noted.
He also said The CSR programmes of the banks and NBFIs have been expedited significantly recently and such contribution of the sectors have been increased by eight times to BDT 5.11 billion in last six years.
Among others Prime Bank Chairman Azam J Chowdhury, Educationists Prof M Q K Talukder and Father Benjamin D Costa and Chairman of Prime Bank Foundation Nader Khan spoke on the occasion.
BBN/SSR/AD