Abdus Sabur Robin :
At NRBC Bank, one of the country’s most talked-about private sector banks, allegations of recruitment, administrative inefficiency, formation of internal syndicates and stagnation in business activities have been made against the current chairman and managing director. Several officials, customers and entrepreneur shareholders of the bank have raised these allegations and demanded immediate intervention from the concerned authorities.
It is alleged that since the change in the leadership of the bank through the interim board formed by Bangladesh Bank in 2025, an influential group has become active at the policy-making level of the institution. The concerned have alleged that a syndicate has been formed under the leadership of the bank’s current chairman Ali Hossain Pradhaniya and managing director Touhidul Alam Khan.
Several officials of the bank claimed that a large number of officers and employees have been appointed from various weak and crisis-ridden banks in the last one year. There are also allegations of financial transactions in these appointments. Although no official statement has been received from the bank authorities in this regard.
Internal sources claim that while a portion of the newly appointed officials have been placed in important positions, many of the long-serving officials have been kept in a virtually inactive position. This is disrupting the normal operations of the bank and increasing uncertainty and frustration among the officials and employees.
Meanwhile, there have been allegations that the bank’s business indicators are also declining. The sources concerned say that instead of collecting new deposits, recovering loans and increasing customer service, more attention is being paid to administrative activities and internal conflicts. As a result, several important corporate customers are also said to be reconsidering their relationship with the bank.
The recent publication of some information related to the forensic audit in the media has also given rise to widespread discussion within the bank. Some senior officials of the bank have claimed that the image of the institution has been damaged due to the presentation of some information from the audit out of context. According to them, many of the issues raised in the audit were part of regular information updates and system management, which do not have any impact on the bank’s financial condition.
There are allegations that instead of expanding business and recovering loans in various branches of the bank, managers are being pressured to distribute loans in specific sectors. Concerned officials believe that this has created a fear of increasing risky loans.
There are also allegations that there is a lack of transparency in various administrative and procurement activities of the bank. Some officials have alleged irregularities in the supply of stamps and management of other vendors. However, no independent investigation report has been published in support of these allegations.
A section of the bank’s entrepreneur shareholders claim that there is an attempt to tarnish the image of the previous board of directors around the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM). They have called for the board to be quickly reconstituted and entrepreneur representatives to be involved.
Although attempts were made to find out the views of the current chairman and managing director of the bank on this matter, no response was received from them till the time of writing the report.
However, concerned analysts in the banking sector believe that it is important to verify these allegations surrounding NRBC Bank through an impartial investigation. At the same time, Bangladesh Bank should take effective monitoring and necessary steps to protect the interests of depositors and shareholders. According to bank officials, customers and entrepreneurial shareholders, if good governance is not ensured quickly, the institution may face greater challenges in the long run.
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