Bank CEOs invited to sports development meeting

Md Aminul Haque, state minister for youth and sports, has called a view-exchange meeting with the managing directors and CEOs of banks to discuss the development of sports in Bangladesh.

The meeting will be held on February 25 at 11 am in the conference room of the National Sports Council, with the state minister in the chair.

The ministry has sent invitation letters to 41 state-owned and private commercial banks. At least half a dozen banks have confirmed receiving the letters from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The letter did not clearly mention the agenda of the meeting, and this correspondent could not reach Haque for comment despite repeated phone calls and text messages.

However, during view-exchange meetings with sports journalists and the high-ups of different sports bodies on Sunday and Monday, respectively, the financial constraints of different sports bodies, especially less popular games, were discussed.

At the meeting, suggestions were made as to whether the state minister for sports could get private banks and financial institutions involved with different sports bodies.

Banks were involved with sports bodies during the tenure of the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government in 2007, some participants at that meeting said.

In reply, Haque at that meeting promised to explore options by talking to the finance minister so that those banks consider spending a portion of their corporate social responsibility funds on the development of sports.

Some bankers expressed their hesitation.

A managing director and CEO of a private commercial bank told The Daily Star, seeking anonymity, that it might turn out to be a form of coercive fundraising.

“Many are calling for meetings these days. We will understand the real purpose once we attend the meeting,” he said.

A central bank official said that collecting donations from banks on various issues has now become a regular occurrence.

Just a few days ago, the Bangladesh Association of Banks sought Tk 50 lakh from each of 20 commercial banks in the country to help construct an eight-storey school at the Demra Police Lines in Dhaka for the children of police personnel.

He further said that different government bodies have, at various times, collected such contributions from banks through the BAB.