A scheduled meeting between Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, and the EXIM Bank board has been postponed. The meeting, which was set to take place on Sunday afternoon, was part of the formalisation process for the merger of five distressed banks.
However, the meeting was called off due to the Governor’s sudden illness. TIMES of Bangladesh has confirmed that Ahsan H Mansur is resting at home.
According to sources at the central bank, meetings with SIBL, First Security, Union, and Global Bank will take place over the next four days. The EXIM Bank meeting will be rescheduled to a more convenient time.
The EXIM Bank board, led by Chairman Nazrul Islam Swapan, arrived at the central bank’s headquarters early on Sunday to attend the meeting. However, as the Governor was absent, they waited for some time before being informed that the meeting had been postponed.
The board members then left the central bank.
Chairman Nazrul Islam Swapan shared that EXIM Bank had arrived with a proposal to turn the bank around within two years.
“We have already started working on reducing non-performing loans and improving the bank’s financial health. Since we’ve been given time, we are better prepared for this meeting,” he added.
The meeting was expected to cover key issues such as the banks’ capital, liquidity support, non-performing loans, cash reserve ratio, and provision shortfalls. Bangladesh Bank had also instructed the banks to discuss their stance on mergers at their board meetings and come to a decision.