Stock Bangladesh News

The country’s merchant banks and brokerage houses have to waive Tk 115 crore interest of the margin loans of 1,39,684 investors by September 30 under a government compensation package announced for the affected investors of the 2011 stock market crash.
A total of 8,14,181 other affected investors who held non-margin beneficiary owners’ accounts will get 20 per cent quota of the upcoming initial public offerings.
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week published the list of 9,53,865 affected investors, and of their brokerage houses or merchant banks, and the amount of the interest to be waived.
A total of 1,39,684 investors who had invested
up to Tk 10 lakh in 2009 and 2010 will get waiver of interest that were accumulated between July 2011 and June 2012 while rest of the affected investors will get the IPO quota.
According to the SEC’s data, a total interest of Tk 44.45 crore will be waived against 51,680 beneficiary owners account in 208 brokerage firms of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
The amount of interest waived in 31 merchant banks is Tk 65.15 crore for 38,946 accounts.
In the Chittagong Stock Exchange, interest amounting to Tk 6.82 crore will waived for 49,042 BO accounts in 79 brokerage firms.
On September 6, the SEC asked the merchant banks and brokerage houses to waive 50 per cent of the interest on margin loans which were taken by investors in 2011.
The SEC also asked for a compliance report from the Dhaka and Chittagong bourses and the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association to be sent to it by October 14.
‘We are aware of the deadline and hopefully will be submit the report to the SEC in time,’ Mohammad A Hafiz, president of the BMBA, told New Age on Saturday.
He said the BMBA is scheduled to hold a meeting of its executive committee this week to discuss the current compliance status of the interest waiver.
‘It is for each individual merchant bank to choose how it will waive the interest. But many of them have sent proposals to their boards and are awaiting replies,’ he said.
However, a senior member of the BMBA told New Age that the majority of the merchant banks will not be able to waive the interest in time.
‘The merchant banks are still under the burden of huge outstanding margin loans which are stuck due to the prolonged downtrend of the market. So it’s very unlikely that they will be able to waive the interest in time,’ he said.
After a free fall of share prices in 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in November last year asked the SEC to work out a package to minimise the losses incurred by investors in the crash.

Source :  newagebd