In a renewed move, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has decided to dissolve the board of National Bank, a prominent commercial entity in the country’s banking sector. 

The central bank conveyed its decision to the managing director of the National Bank via a formal letter announcing the cancellation of the existing board of directors on May 5.

Simultaneously, BB has formed a new board of directors and appointed Khalilur Rahman, the bank’s sponsor director, as the new chairman, as stated in the BB communication.

This action follows a previous instance on December 21, 2023, when BB issued a directive to dissolve the then-existing board of National Bank, subsequently constituting a new board. 

During this earlier reconstitution, Syed Ferhat Anwar, a former professor at the Institute of Business Administration under Dhaka University, was appointed as the bank’s new chairman.

The catalyst for these successive interventions by the banking regulator traces back to concerns raised by Parveen Haque Sikder, a director of National Bank, who expressed apprehensions to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential manipulation of the bank’s board of directors’ election by the incumbent board members.

In this latest iteration, BB has opted to remove most of the previous directors, including Syed Ferhat Anwar and Parveen Haque Sikder, to address the perceived governance risks and ensure the stability and integrity of the bank’s operations.