Grameen Bank, the esteemed microfinance institution awarded the Nobel Prize, is on the cusp of a significant restructuring of its ownership and governance.
The government has proposed a reduction of its stake in the bank from the current 25% to a mere 5%.
This plan is detailed in the draft of a new ordinance, recently published on the Financial Institutions Division's website.
The ordinance aims to amend the Grameen Bank Act of 2013.
The proposed amendment further suggests reducing the number of government-appointed directors from three to one and eliminating the government's authority in appointing the bank's chairman.
Upon implementation, the chairman will be elected by the 12-member board, thereby enhancing the institution’s autonomy.
This development follows extensive scrutiny during the 15-year tenure of the Sheikh Hasina government, which was toppled in a mass uprising last August.
The restructuring will significantly augment the control exercised by the bank’s microcredit borrowers and curtail state involvement.
Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus, who now leads Bangladesh's interim government.
Professor Yunus was compelled to resign as managing director of Grameen Bank in 2011, following the government’s assertion that he had surpassed the retirement age for public servants.
