DMD Circular Letter No. 07: Regarding Meeting Minutes Related to National Savings Schemes

50119

Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank of Bangladesh) Head Office Motijheel, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh.

Data Management Department

14 Falgun, 1431 Date: ------------------- 27 February, 2025

DMD Circular Letter No.-07

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer All Scheduled Banks Operating in Bangladesh (Excluding Shariah-based Banks)

Dear Sir,

Context of Meeting Minutes Related to Discussion on National Savings Schemes.

Reference is drawn to the DMD Circular Letter No.-13/2024 issued by this department on November 06, 2024, regarding the Notification No. 08.00.0000.041.22.007.20.35 dated November 03, 2024, of the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

2. Through the aforementioned notification, the amended policy of the National Savings Scheme was sent to you for your information and necessary action.

3. Now, the minutes of the meeting organized by the Internal Resources Division on February 05, 2025, on the aforementioned subject are being sent herewith for your information and necessary action.

Yours faithfully,

(Inteqmal Hossain) Director (DMD) Phone: 9530131

Enclosure: As described.

Phone: 88-02-9550448, 9554896, IP: 88-02-55652001-6, Fax: 88-02-9530479, www.bb.org.bd

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Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Ministry of Finance Internal Resources Division Savings Branch www.ird.gov.bd

Meeting Minutes Related to Discussion on National Savings Schemes.

Chairperson: Roksona Khan Joint Secretary Date of Meeting: 05-02-2025 Time of Meeting: 11:00 AM Venue: Meeting Room of Internal Resources Division Attendance: Appendix-'A'

The Chairperson welcomed all members present and started the meeting proceedings. The Chairperson stated that the meeting has been organized today with the objective of identifying challenges and determining ways to address them for bringing bonds purchased through manual processes under the National Savings Scheme Online Management System.

The Chairperson asked the members present for their opinions on how bonds purchased through manual processes can be brought under the National Savings Scheme Online Management System. In this context, the members present discussed the National Savings Scheme Online Management System. After detailed discussion, the following decisions were unanimously adopted:

Decision-1: Wage Earner Development Bonds, US Dollar Premium Bonds, and US Dollar Investment Bonds issued manually can be renewed manually until the current maturity period. However, upon maturity of manually issued Wage Earner Development Bonds, US Dollar Premium Bonds, and US Dollar Investment Bonds, or in the case of premature encashment by the purchaser, all manual bond renewals must necessarily be included in the 'National Savings Scheme Online Management System'. However, in both cases, the condition mentioned in the Notification No. 08.00.0000.041.22.007.20-35 dated November 03, 2024, of the Internal Resources Division must be fulfilled: "In the case of Wage Earner Development Bonds, investment can be made for 1 (one) term with the money received as remittance once, and renewal facility can be provided for a maximum of 2 (two) consecutive terms; and in the case of US Dollar Premium Bonds and US Dollar Investment Bonds, investment can be made for 1 (one) term with the money received as remittance once, and renewal facility can be provided for a maximum of 4 (four) consecutive terms."

Decision-2: A Client Interface must be created for the purchaser for the purpose of online renewal. The purchaser will provide their own information through the Client Interface and upload the required investment-related documents in the system when renewing online, having previously provided information in hard copy. Upon the purchaser uploading their required documents and sending the original bond to the issuing office or depositing it in person, the relevant issuing office will verify all documents from the system and activate the renewal facility. Renewal will be done with consent via message. For this purpose, the Client Interface for investors and the automatic message provision facility must be activated appropriately.

Decision-3: For service facilitation, a single form must be prepared by consolidating the information from the Diaspora Form and DB-1/DIB/DPB Form provided by the purchaser.

Decision-4: In the case of bond renewal, priority will be given to the National Identity Card (NID) in the online system. If a purchaser fails to submit the National Identity Card for any special reason, a decision must be taken by the appropriate authority.

Decision-5: Remitters sending remittances through valid channels receive a 2.5% cash incentive on the sent remittance. However, investors investing in Wage Earner Development Bonds, US Dollar Premium Bonds, and US Dollar Investment Bonds must refund the cash incentive money. The refund process is extremely complex. Therefore, to ensure the free/smooth flow of remittances, necessary arrangements must be made to automate the cash incentive refund process if possible.

2. As there was no other agenda in the meeting, the Chairperson thanked everyone and declared the meeting closed.

Considered Enclosure: Appendix-'A'

All Enclosures: (1) Appendix-'A'

(Signature) 17-02-2025 Roksona Khan Joint Secretary

Date: 4 Falgun 1431 Bangabda 17 February 2025 AD

Number: 08.00.0000.041.22.006.20.28

Distribution (in order of seniority):

1. Governor, Bangladesh Bank.
2. Mr. Md. Firoz Khan, Program Executive & Coordinator (Deputy Secretary), PFM Reform Leadership, Coordination & Monitoring Scheme.
3. Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Sonali Bank PLC.
4. Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Janata Bank PLC.
5. Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Agrani Bank PLC.
6. Mr. Md. Sadikur Rahman Khan, Director, Department of National Savings, Dhaka.
7. Private Secretary to the Secretary, Internal Resources Division.
8. Mr. Md. Enayet Hossain, Deputy Director, Department of National Savings, Dhaka.
9. Mr. Muhammad Mizanur Rahman, Senior Advisor, Data Management Scheme, Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS), Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Dhaka.
10. Mr. Md. Hafizul Islam, Senior IT Advisor, Data Management Scheme, Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS), Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Dhaka.
11. Personal Staff Officer to Joint Secretary (Savings), Internal Resources Division, Dhaka.

(Signature) 19-02-2025 Mokima Begum Deputy Secretary