Sonali Bank PLC (Bengali ：সোনালী ব্যাংক （এসবিপিএলসি）） Is The Largest State-owned Leading Public Commercial Bank In Bangladesh. It Is The Largest Bank In The Country. Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui Is The Chairperson Of The Bank. Niranjan Chandra Debnath And Sanchia Binte Ali Are The Deputy Managing Directors Of The Bank.
History
Sonali Bank Was Established In 1972 Under The Bangladesh Bank (Nationalization) Order By Merging And Nationalizing Branches Of State Bank Of Pakistan, Bahawalpur Bank And Premier Bank In East Pakistan Until 1971 When Sonali Bank Was Established During The Bangladesh Liberation War With Paid-in Capital Of 30 Million Taka.
Dr. Atiur Rahman Served As A Director Of Sonali Bank From 1996 To 1999.
In 2001, Its Authorized Capital And Paid-up Capital Were 10 Billion Baht And 3.272 Billion Baht Respectively. Currently, Its Authorized And Paid-up Capital Is 10 Billion Baht And 9 Billion Baht Respectively. [Source Request] The Bank's Reserves Were 60 Million Baht In 1979 And 2.05 Billion Baht On June 30, 2000.
In 2007, Sonali Bank Was Converted Into A Public Limited Company And Renamed Sonali Bank Limited.
Sonali Bank Lost Nearly 40 Billion Taka In 2008, But The Bank's Managing Director, S.A. Chowdhury, Predicted That The Bank Could Be Profitable Within Five Years. On May 22, BM Bakir Hossain, A Senior Union Official At The Sonali Bank Employees' Union, Was Sentenced To 13 Years In Prison And A Fine Of 1 Million Taka For Corruption. [14] He Is Also The Chairperson Of The Bangladesh Bank Employees' Federation And Joint Secretary Of Jatyatabadi Sramik Dal In Bangladesh.
In 2009, Quazi Baharul Islam Was Appointed Chairperson Of Sonali Bank.
On October 2, 2010, Sonali Bank Filed A Loan Default Lawsuit Against Dandy Dyeing Limited And Its 10 Directors Against Artha Rin Adalat-1. The Directors Of Dandy Dyeing Limited Are Tarique Rahman, Arafat Rahman, Arafat's Wife Sharmila Rahman Sithi, Arafat's Daughter Za Fia Rahman, Arafat's Other Daughter Zahia Rahman, Giasuddin Al Mamun, Mamun's Wife Shahina Yasmine, Sayeed Iskander's Wife Nasrin Iskander, Shafin Iskander, Shams Iskander, Kazi Galib Abdus Sattar And Sumaiya Iskander. The Company Dug Up The Money On October 16, 2001. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Is Also A Defendant In The Case.
Disputes
The Highest Bank Default Rates In 2006 Were Mahanagari Traders Limited, Fair Chemicals (Private) Limited, Khulna Newsprint Mills Limited, Chittagong Jute Manufacturing Limited, Shamsul Alamin Cotton Spinning Limited, Imperial Dyeing And Hosiery Mills Limited, Jahanara Alamin Spinning, Bright Textile Industries, Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation, Bangladesh Autorickshaw Chalak Sami Ty, Maola Textile Mills, East West Property Development Limited, Lina Textile Industries, Beximco Group, One Composite Mills Limited, Riverside Leather And Footwear Limited, Desma Shoe Industries, Nawab Askari Jute Mills Limited, Alpha Tobacco Manufacturing Company Limited And Bangladesh Petroleum
From 2010 To 2012, Hallmark Group Defrauded 35 Billion Taka From Sonali Bank In What Became Known As The Hallmark-Sonali Bank Loan Scam. Described By The Daily Star As "one Of The Worst Financial Scandals" In Bangladesh's History. The Loans Were All Provided From Its Branch At The Ruposhi Bangla Hotel. After The Scam, 17 Officials Of The Bank Were Suspended. The Scam Was Exposed By Managing Director ANM Mashrurul Huda. Transparency International Bangladesh Called For An Investigation Into The Matter. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith Accused Members Of The Awami Union Of Protecting The Scammers Of Sonali And BASIC Bank Limited. The Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association Has Asked Sonali Bank To Pay Hallmark Group's Bill Because The Bank Accepted The Bill When It Was Accepted By Sonali Banks. Consultancy Firm Syful Shamsul Alam And Co Blamed Sonali Bank For The Undetected Scam. AHM Habibur Rahman Has Been Appointed Chairperson Of The Bank, Succeeding Quazi Baharul Islam. The Bank Has Refused To Reschedule Hallmark Group's Loan.
In 2013, Cybercriminals Used The Swift International Payment Network To Steal $250,000 From The Bank. In 2016, The Bank Signed A Memorandum Of Understanding With PayPal. It Also Signed An Agreement With MoneyGram.
Bangladesh Bank Appointed Observers At Sonali Bank In 2015. Observers Were Also Appointed At Rupali Bank, Agrani Bank And Janata Bank. In July 2015, Robbers Killed Two Security Guards At Sonali Bank's Kalaroa Upazila Branch In Satkhira District.
In 2016, The Rapid Action Battalion Stopped A Robbery Attempt At The Bank's Dhamrai Branch, Killing One Of The Robbers During A Gun Battle.
Pradip Kumar Dutta, Former Managing Director Of Sonali Bank, Was Appointed Managing Director Of The Farmers Bank In 2017.
On February 14, 2018, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain Issued A Ruling Allowing Sonali Bank To Commence Recruitment After A Number Of Candidates Filed A Petition Alleging Irregularities In The Recruitment Of 2,200 Police Officers, With 800,000 Applicants Applying. Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh Represented The Bank, While The Applicants Were Represented By Abdul Matin Khasru, A.M. Aminuddin, Quamrul Haque Siddique And Rafiqur Rahman. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith Pointed To Government Interference As One Of The Reasons For The Poor Performance Of Sonali Bank. Sonali Bank Had A Loan-to-deposit Ratio Of 42% In 2018. Sonali Bank Proposed To The Ministry Of Finance In December That It Set Up A Separate Company To Take Over The Assets Of Loan Defaulters After Failing To Auction Properties Due To Petitions Filed With The High Court And Artha Rin Adalat. The Bank Has 265 Billion Taka Assets Trapped In Court, Of Which 200 Billion Trapped In Artha Rin Adalat (Loan Court).
Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui Was Appointed Chairperson Of The Bank In August 2019. On August 20, Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud, Managing Director Of Sonali Bank, Was Appointed Managing Director Of Rupali Bank, And Md. Ataur Rahman Prodhan, Managing Director Of Rupali Bank, Was Appointed Managing Director Of Sonali Bank. In November 2019, The Anti-Corruption Commission Arrested A Retired Employee Of The Bank On Charges Of Misappropriating 18.40 Million Taka From The Bank.
On May 25, 2022, Seven Officials Of Sonali Bank And Two Businesspeople Of Hallmark Group Were Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison For Embezzlement. On July 24, Humayun Kabir, The Former Managing Director Of The Bank, Was Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison For Misappropriating The Bank's 12.50 Million Taka, And Two Other Officials Were Given Different Sentences. Md Afzal Karim Was Appointed Managing Director Of Sonali Bank In August 2022.
Branch
Sonali Bank Has A Total Of 1,230 Branches. The Branch That Recently Opened Services Is Located At Dinajpur Board Branch In Dinajpur. Of These, 467 Are Located In Urban Areas, 746 In Rural Areas And 2 Overseas (India). Also Operates Sonali Exchange Company Inc. In The United States, Sonali Exchange In Dubai (UAE), Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd. In The United Kingdom, And In Hong Kong (HAR) And Singapore To Facilitate Foreign Exchange Remittances. Sonali Bank UK Sends Money Directly To 25 Destinations In Bangladesh, Including Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Murvi Bazar, Beni Bazar, Balaganj, Biswanath, Jagannatpur, Sunamganj, Gopalganj, Nabiganj Upazila, Hobigunj, Kulala, Tajipur.
Overseas
United States
There Are Currently Four In The United States, Located In Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago And Los Angeles. Due To Losses In 2018, Bangladesh Bank Has Ordered Sonali Bank To Close Its US-based Exchange Company, Sonali Exchange Company Incorporation.
United Kingdom
There Are Four Branches In The United Kingdom, One On Osborne Street In London And The Other In Little Badlands; Birmingham And Manchester. It Was Fined £3.50 Million By The Financial Conduct Authority In 2016 For Money Laundering Offences And Collaborating With Politically Exposed Figures. The Branch Closed Briefly In 1998. Sonali Bank Sought Permission From Bangladesh Bank In 2017 To Send 1.71 Billion Taka To Its UK Branch. It Was On The Verge Of Bankruptcy And Trading Was Suspended By Royal Bank Of Scotland.
India
Has Two Branches In India, One In Kolkata And The Other In Siliguri, West Bengal, India. It Was Allowed To Inject Capital Into Its Kolkata Branch 500 Million Taka As New Money.
Islamic Banking
In 2010, Islamic Banking Was Launched Through Five Branches Of Sonali Bank In Different Parts Of The Country. In 2009, Sonali Bank Launched Islamic Banking Again In Six Other Branches In Different Parts Of The Country.
