Midland Bank refutes BCB statement on Tk 2.5 billion fund transfer

Midland Bank has rejected a statement titled “BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 Crore by Faruque Ahmed” released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

The BCB statement contains “misleading and baseless information” about the bank, it said in a rejoinder on Sunday.

The following is the rejoinder verbatim:

On April 26, 2025, BCB issued a press release titled “BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 crore by Faruque Ahmed,” which included misleading and baseless information about Midland Bank. Midland Bank strongly protests and condemns this.

The published report, quoting BCB’s statement, mentioned: "Prioritizing the protection of financial interests, the BCB Board has re-evaluated its banking relationships and decided to transact only with financial institutions listed under Bangladesh Bank's 'Green' and 'Yellow' zone. An amount of BDT 250 crore was withdrawn from banks categorized as risky, and BDT 238 crore was reinvested into banks listed in the 'Green' and 'Yellow' zone."

It is important to note that, according to various newspaper reports (reference: The Daily Star, date: 11.03.2024), Midland Bank is one of the eight banks designated under the 'Green' zone by Bangladesh Bank, as reported in the newspapers. Despite being classified as 'Green,' as per the news reports, BCB withdrew its deposits from Midland Bank before the maturity date (through premature encashment) and transferred them to various banks.

Notably, according to the cited report, Midland Bank is the only fourth-generation bank included in the 'Green' list. Midland Bank maintains a satisfactory position across all financial indicators, including capital adequacy, asset quality, profitability, and management efficiency, and operates with the highest financial discipline as per Bangladesh Bank and all regulatory regulations.

The publication of BCB's press release has harmed the image of Midland Bank, which is unfortunate. The deposit placed by BCB with Midland Bank was returned immediately upon BCB’s request, even before maturity, demonstrating the strength and financial capability of Midland Bank. As on December 31, 2024, NPL Ratio of the Bank was 3.78 per cent and Capital Adequacy Ratio was 16.78 per cent, much higher than the minimum required ratio of 12.50 per cent.

BCB’s explanation also indicated that restructuring banking relationships resulted in increased profits from term deposits. Recently, several media reports have highlighted incidents where customers were unable to retrieve their deposits from various banks, often after placing funds in risky institutions in hopes of higher returns. Such issues have been reported widely. In contrast, Midland Bank consistently manages its funds prudently, ensuring that customers can withdraw their deposits at any time without notice.

In light of the above, as one of the most reputable media outlets in the country, we respectfully request that you: Recognize that the information regarding Midland Bank in BCB's press release titled "BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 Crore by Faruque Ahmed" is false and misleading.

Retract the false and misleading information regarding Midland Bank and publish a corrected report clearly stating the bank’s true status as a well-organized financial institution listed under the 'Green' zone, as reported in the newspapers.

Exercise special caution to verify and ensure the accuracy of information before publishing any future news related to Midland Bank.