Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The central bank of Bangladesh has approved six more private commercial banks (PCBs) aiming to help strengthen the ongoing financial inclusion programs through bringing unbanked people into banking network, officials said.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the board of directors of Bangladesh Bank (BB), held at its central office Sunday, with BB Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair.
The six approved PCBs are: Union Bank Limited, Modhumoti Bank Limited, the Farmers Bank Limited, Meghna Bank Limited, Midland Bank Limited and South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Limited.
“The board has approved the six PCBs after a thorough scrutiny of all 16 short-listed applications one by one,” Deputy Governor of the BB SK Sur Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.
Earlier, 37 applications were submitted to the central bank for setting up of new PCBs. Of them, 21 were rejected by a preliminary scrutiny committee mainly due to lack of necessary papers and documents.
Last Thursday, the central bank approved three new commercial banks sponsored by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to help boost the inflow of foreign exchange.
 
BBN/SSR/AD-08Apr12-6:50 pm (BST)