A bill titled “Palli Sanchay Bank Bill, 2014” has been placed in Parliament on Monday for setting up a specialised bank to facilitate savings and transactions of the earnings of the rural poor and under privileged people.
Minister for Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Monday placed the bill as the sitting of the day began at 5:10pm with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
The bill was later sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of finance for scrutiny. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 15 days.
As per the bill, the paid up share capital of the bank would be Taka 200 crore while the authorized capital will be Taka 1,000 crore.
The government will pay 51 percent while the rest 49 percent will come from the cooperative societies of the “One House, One Farm” project, said the draft of the bill.
However, it said, the government will not take any dividend against its shares. Palli Sanchay Bank will not be governed under the Banking Companies Act.
The proposed Palli Sanchay Bank will be governed under the Banking Companies Act and controlled by the central bank.
The head office of the Bank will be situated in Dhaka. After getting the approval from the Bangladesh Bank, the Palli Sanchay Bank can set up its regional offices and branches across the country.
The tenure of the Board will be three years. Board members can be appointed for maximum two consecutive terms.
The bank is initiated to be established like the Grameen Bank but the main difference of the proposed bank is that no individual would be the member of the bank. Only the societies will be the member of the proposed bank.
Placing the bill, the finance minister said that setting up of the new and specialized bank will play an important role for poverty eradication in the rural areas as the law will encourage the rural poor for savings, help them create village organizations for socio-economic development and ensure women
empowerment with their capacity building.
“The bank will also play a vital role for savings and transactions of the money to be earned by the poor people in rural areas,” he added.
Earlier on November 11, 2013 , the cabinet approved the draft of the Palli Sanchay Act 2013 following necessary vetting from the law ministry. – Staff Reporter
