Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The central bank of Bangladesh is going to start the process for issuing licenses for establishing new commercial banks in the country, officials said.
“We’ve received a letter from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in this connection,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, said, adding that the BB will place a proposal to its board of directors seeking a decision on the issue.
“We’ll act in line with our higher authority’s decision,” the BB official said without elaborating.
The central bank will finalize a guideline by the end of this month, setting out the details that the intending sponsors will have to follow while filing applications for setting up new banks, they added.
“After announcement of advertisement by the BB, the interested entrepreneurs will have to apply for licence to establish a new bank,” another BB official said, adding that said the central bank will not consider the applications, which were earlier submitted to the BB.
The BB’s latest move came after the government announcement to invite applications from entrepreneurs willing to establish new banks and life insurance companies from July this year.
On June 29 last, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the parliament that the government would invite applications from entrepreneurs willing to establish new banks and life insurance companies from the next month.
The BB officials, however, said the central bank officials have started preparations to submit a proposal in this connection to its Board shortly.
Currently, a total of 47 commercial banks are in operation in the country.
The Awami League government during its earlier tenure between 1996 and 2001 allowed a good number of new banks and insurance companies to start operations.
Prior to that, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government had issued licenses to some PCBs for operations in the early 1990s.
BBN/SSR/AD-06July11-11:38 am (BST)
