An important exchange-of-views meeting took place between the Financial Institutions Division and the Board of Directors of Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank to discuss the bank’s overall reform and progress, with the aim of transforming it into a more modern, efficient, digital, accountable, and people-friendly institution. The meeting was held on Wednesday, September 9, at the Bangladesh Secretariat and was presided over by Nazma Mobarek, Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance.

Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud, Director General of the Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) and Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors, represented Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank at the meeting. At the outset, a detailed presentation was delivered covering the bank’s overall operations, current status, recent progress, existing challenges, and future action plans. The presentation highlighted various aspects of making the bank’s operations more dynamic, modern, and technology-driven.

During the meeting, Nazma Mobarek, Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, identified the existing challenges facing Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank and provided crucial directives on the necessary steps to overcome them. She emphasized the importance of maintaining the momentum of the bank’s recent performance and continued progress. Additionally, she called for expanding investments into promising and productive sectors to create greater employment opportunities and foster financial development for members of the Ansar-VDP family.

Several key issues regarding the reform and enhancement of the bank’s institutional capacity were discussed during the meeting. Emphasis was placed on expediting the recruitment of personnel for vacant posts, ensuring the optimal utilization of experienced and skilled staff, increasing paid-up capital, modernizing existing regulations, enhancing accountability and efficiency, and ensuring effective good governance.

Furthermore, directives were issued regarding identifying the actual reasons for the bank’s losses in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, adopting effective and incentive-based measures—in compliance with relevant Bangladesh Bank circulars—to recover written-off loans, and further strengthening the bank’s overall loan management system. Simultaneously, emphasis was placed on making personnel-related services faster, more transparent, efficient, and effective through the implementation of HR Automation/ERP systems by 2029.

During the meeting, a firm commitment was expressed to transform the Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank into a modern, technology-driven, and good-governance-based financial institution. Optimism was voiced that establishing an efficient, digital, accountable, and sustainable Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank would accelerate initiatives regarding financial inclusion, entrepreneurship development, and the enhancement of financial capabilities for the vast Ansar-VDP family.

Mir Mofazzal Hossain, Managing Director of Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, along with other members of the Board of Directors, attended the exchange meeting. Additionally, Md. Azimuddin Biswas (NDC), Md. Sayed Kutub, and Abu Saleh Md. Mohiuddin Khan (NDC)—all Additional Secretaries of the Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance—as well as Joint Secretary Farida Yasmin and other relevant officials, were present.