‘No proper working environment for an MD,’ says Mosharaf Hossain as he resigns from BCB

Mohammed Mosharaf Hossain, managing director of Bangladesh Commerce Bank (BCB), says he has been compelled to resign from his post two years before his term ends.

He submitted his resignation letter to the bank's chairman on Wednesday. He also sent another copy of his resignation to Bangladesh Bank per the rules.

Mosharaf was appointed as managing director (MD) for about two and a half years in January this year. He could have served as the bank's managing director until he turned 65. He is currently 63 years old.

The former MD confirmed the resignation to bdnews24.com. He said, “Under the circumstances, I tried my best to set up the bank properly. But there were many hindrances which blocked me. After considering everything, I felt that I should resign.”

Mosharraf said, "Many incidents took place at the bank. Many things were not going well. There is no proper working environment needed for a managing director.”

“Although I tried to create a working environment, there was a lot of complexity. Naturally, various obstacles were created in the role that a managing director is supposed to play.”

He said, "An MD has to talk about some issues. This is part of their responsibility. Quite a few times I told (the authorities) that I am not able to work the way I should be able to. Not all board members worked in the same way. Two or three people tried to do a good job. I have tried my best to inform the board about this."

"I tried to establish good governance. Because it is a fragile institution, it should have been taken forward gradually. There was pressure from the board to change the bank’s situation. I told them that it couldn't be done overnight, that it would take time to fix it. They had to do it properly. But we could not even do the normal work."

A senior official of the bank told bdnews24.com that the managing director had been involved in a dispute with the board over an interest waiver for a company. The board had sought Bangladesh Bank’s “no objection” to waive the interest and put pressure on the MD in this regard.

The official said that Mosharaf also clashed with the board on other issues and was unable to work independently.

The banking sector has been undergoing significant shifts since the changeover in the political scenario on Aug 5, 2024. In September this year, Bangladesh Bank dissolved the board of directors of Bangladesh Commerce Bank. After appointing independent directors, the board was restructured by appointing a chairman.

Before the new board took over, S Alam controlled Bangladesh Commerce Bank.

Former executive director of Bangladesh Bank Md Ataur Rahman has been appointed as the chairman of the new board.

The other four independent directors are former additional managing director of Meghna Bank Md Mohsin Mia, Joint Secretary of the Financial Institutions Department Kamrul Haque Maruf, former deputy managing director of Janata Bank Md Golam Mortuza and accountant Sheikh Ashwafuzzaman.