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Prof Melita Mehjabeen has been elected chairman of private lender National Bank, replacing Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo.
The decision was made at the bank’s 539th board meeting held on Saturday, according to information published on the bank’s website.
A senior official from the bank’s public relations division said the change in leadership had been communicated to the relevant regulatory authorities.
Mehjabeen had previously been serving as an independent director of the bank.
Mintoo was elected to parliament from the Feni-3 constituency as a BNP candidate in the Feb 12 election. After the BNP formed the government, he was appointed minister for environment, forests and climate change.
As ministers are required to resign from positions in profit-making entities, Mintoo stepped down as chairman of the bank.
Mehjabeen completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at Dhaka University and joined the institution as a lecturer in 2009. She later earned a PhD in accounting and finance from Alliance Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom as a Commonwealth scholar. She also holds a master’s degree in development studies from the University of Colombo.
National Bank has faced governance and liquidity challenges in recent years.
Amid internal disputes within the Sikder family, Syed Ferhat Anwar was appointed chairman in December 2023. During his tenure, discussions began on a possible merger between National Bank and United Commercial Bank (UCB), though the talks stalled following political changes last year.
After the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Bank dissolved the bank’s board, which had been under the influence of the Chattogram-based S Alam Group.
Mintoo returned as chairman in August 2024, 21 years after leaving the post. He had previously served as a director of the bank for 20 consecutive years until 2003 and as chairman from 1995 to 1998.
Founded in 1983, National Bank was one of the country’s first private commercial banks.