4 May 2023, 18:00 PM
17 MIN(s) ago
Star Business Report
One-fourth of the 61 banks in Bangladesh accounted for 72 per cent of the total Tk 1,129 crore spending on Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) in 2022, according to a Bangladesh Bank report released last week.The remaining banks spent the rest 28 per cent, the data showed.Bankers say they spent most of the money for education, health and disaster management and climate change adaptation as per the guideline.As per the rule, banks have to invest 30 per cent of their CSR fund in education, 30 per cent in health and 20 per cent in disaster management and climate change adaptation.Additionally, they have to send 5 per cent of their CSR funds to the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust, according to the central bank's directive."Our spending for education under CSR is increasing. A portion of our CSR funds also goes to the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund. We participate whenever there is a national call like natural disaster," said M Reazul Karim, managing director and CEO of The Premier Bank.The private bank spent Tk 49.5 crore for CSR initiatives in 2022 and was the fourth largest spender in this area after Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL), Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) and Exim Bank."Our CSR activities mainly cover humanitarian and disaster relief, education, health, environment as well as arts, literature, culture and sports. During 2022, we spent Tk 327 crore for covering 632,674 beneficiaries," said Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director of IBBL.He then said IBBL carries out its CSR activities beyond the regulatory threshold.CSR programmes of IBBL aim at the welfare and well-being of all people on Earth, the planet itself and its stakeholders, he added.DBBL spent Tk 69 crore and Exim Bank spent Tk 63 crore last year to become the second and third highest spenders for CSR respectively, as per central bank data.On the other hand, four banks -- Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnyan Bank, Citizens Bank PLC and National Bank of Pakistan -- did not spend for CSR in 2022.Of them, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnyan Bank and Citizens Bank PLC did not make any profit the previous year, Bangladesh Bank said.Chowdhury Liakat Ali, director of the sustainable finance department at Bangladesh Bank, said there is no specific directive from the central bank regarding the ratio of profit banks will have to spend for CSR.However, banks have to share with the central bank the amount of their profit they will have to spend for CSR. In general, CSR spending accounts for 7 to 8 per cent of a bank's profit, he added.A senior official of Bank Asia, which spent nearly Tk 24 crore, said the private bank invested mainly in health and education last year under CSR initiatives."We have contributed to the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust. Individually, we also have scholarship programmes for talented students," he added.In the current year, Bank Asia is focusing on agriculture and has already provided three combine harvesters to farmer groups in haor areas of Sylhet to enable them to harvest their crops faster and avoid the risk of crop loss for flash floods.
