Members of Yunus Shurid (Friends of Yunus) at a meeting in Chittagong yesterday expressed deep concern over the recent proposed change in the legal structure of Grameen Bank. Professor Muhammad Sekandar Khan, vice chancellor of East Delta University and also the convener of Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus Shurid (Friends) Chattagram, presided
grameen bank
US worried at govt action on Grameen
Urges transparency in MD selection process The United States has expressed deep concern over Bangladesh government’s actions to control over the Grameen Bank and called for showing respect to the integrity, effectiveness and independence of the Bank. It also urged the Bangladeshi government to ensure transparency in the selection of a new managing director for ... Read more
Govt moves to destroy Grameen
BNP terms it a personal vendetta against Yunus Condemning the government’s move to amend the Grameen Bank ordinance, the main opposition BNP yesterday said the government has initiated the move to destroy the bank in a planned way. Expressing its concern over the step, the BNP asked the government to save the institution by rescinding ... Read more
Grameen fettered
Changes to ordinance give govt-appointed chairman almost absolute power to pick MD, Yunus’ income under scrutiny The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal for amending an ordinance to give more powers to the Grameen Bank chairman to choose the managing director of the microlender. The amendment to the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 will undermine the autonomy ... Read more
Autonomy curbed
4 leading personalities censure govt move Civil society leaders yesterday condemned the government move to curtail the autonomy of the Nobel winning Grameen Bank as an undemocratic decision that they believe would give negative signals to the world. The cabinet approved of an amendment to the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, which would reduce the power ... Read more
Save the bank
Appeals shocked Nobel hero Shocked. Speechless. This is what Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus said after the government empowered the Grameen Bank chairman in choosing a managing director for the microlender. Here is the statement of the Grameen Bank founder:
Govt to clip board wings
Grameen Bank Govt to clip board wings Proposal to amend ordinance goes to cabinet division today The government plans to amend the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 to reduce the powers of the bank’s board and give more authority to its chairman to pick the managing director of the microcredit organisation. The finance ministry may place ... Read more
Grameen Bank refutes PM’s remarks
Interest Rate Grameen Bank refutes PM’s remarks Grameen Bank yesterday refuted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s claim that the microcredit organisation charges 30 to 45 percent interest to the poor. The Nobel Peace Prize winning bank in a statement said it charges 20 percent interest at the most in any sector, which is 7 percent lower ... Read more
UK minister for protecting its integrity
Grameen Bank UK minister for protecting its integrity Alistair Burt, UK Foreign Office Minister for South Asia, has emphasised protecting the integrity and efficiency of the Nobel-winning Grameen Bank. “We strongly support the stunning work of Grameen Bank in lifting the very poor out of poverty,” he has said, adding the integrity and efficiency of ... Read more
I’m fearful of its future
Grameen Bank I’m fearful of its future Says Yunus in an open letter Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday urged stakeholders and the government not to take any step to change the legal structure of the Nobel-winning Grameen Bank. In an open letter to the borrower owners of Grameen Bank, Yunus expressed his fear that steps are ... Read more
Commission formed to review activities
Grameen Bank, Associated Organisations Commission formed to review activities The government yesterday formed a four-member commission to review the activities of Grameen Bank and its associated organisations, and make recommendations on how to run the organisations. The move comes a week after the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s two-day visit to Bangladesh when she ... Read more
Let Grameen Bank work productively
Hillary conveys US concern over Yunus removal; urges Dhaka to ensure press freedom, scope for NGOs At her first meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni in two years, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has conveyed her country’s concern over the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank and the removal of its reputed managing director Prof ... Read more
Grameen board members harassed
Seven board members of Grameen Bank, who travelled to Dhaka to meet with the well-wishers of the microcredit organisation, were harassed by their former colleagues and security officials yesterday. A section of former Grameen Bank officials and security personnel quizzed them about their tour and the reason for travels to the capital, said the board ... Read more
Social business for solving others’ problems: Yunus
Nobel Laureate Muhmmad Yunus said on Tuesday that social business was aimed at solving others’ problems by investing funds and getting back the capital without any profits. The people involved in the traditional business are for only making profits but the social business is driven by social consciousness for solving others’ problems, said Yunus at ... Read more
Yunus worried about GB future
Tells The Daily Star it’s not wise to amend law to ensure govt control Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has warned that Grameen Bank could run into deep trouble if the government amends the law to take control of the microfinance bank founded by him. “If those amendments [proposed by the review committee] come and the ... Read more
Do not let go of GB ownership
Prof Yunus writes to members Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday urged the 83 lakh members of Grameen Bank to remain vigilant against any attempts to take away the microfinance bank from the majority shareholders. The caution came after his resignation as the bank’s managing director amid widespread speculation that his removal was part of ... Read more
Govt plans to overhaul GB
14-pt blueprint to raise govt stake in Grameen Bank The government has planned to raise its stake in the Grameen Bank and establish control over its lucrative sister firms in a move that will transform the Nobel winning micro-lender into another state-owned bank. The finance ministry has outlined the plan in a 14-point blueprint, which ... Read more
Continued help assured for Grameen’s independence
Friends of Grameen, an international platform promoting Grameen Bank and its activities, yesterday insisted that it will continue its fight to help the microfinance institution retain its independence. The statement from the global platform came a day after Grameen Bank founder Prof Muhammad Yunus stepped down as the bank’s managing director — much to the ... Read more
Prof Yunus resigns
Prof Muhammad Yunus has stepped down as the managing director of Grameen Bank in order to prevent undue disruption in the activities of the microfinance bank, the Nobel laureate confirmed yesterday. “I am today [yesterday] relinquishing the post of managing director of Grameen Bank on the basis that the Deputy Managing Director Nurjahan Begum would ... Read more
Let Grameen Bank flourish further
Appeals Prof Yunus Grameen Bank’s future is connected with 40 million borrowers, and it should be ensured that its achievements in the last four decades are not undone, Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus said in a statement yesterday. “Now our challenge is to create the opportunity so that the second generation of Grameen Bank