Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat

The Farmers Bank Ltd has selected Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat as its new chairman after the resignation of Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir from the post over allegations of involvement in financial scams.

The board of the bank had taken the decision on Sunday in line with the central bank's recommendation, Sarafat told The Daily Star yesterday. "I will serve as chairman of the bank as an institutional representative of 12 organisations. The board's decision will take effect after it gets go-ahead from the central bank."

Strengthening the capital base of the trouble-hit bank is one of the major challenges for him, according to Sarafat.

"Besides, the bank has to immediately repay deposits worth Tk 147 crore to the clients. I will try my best to repay the depositors' amount within the shortest possible time."

Alamgir along with the bank's audit committee chairman Md Mahabubul Haque Chisty resigned from its board on November 27 last year after the central bank asked them to quit.

If they had not stepped down, the BB would have removed them under the Banking Companies Act 1991, a BB official said.

In line with the BB directive, the Farmers Bank, established four years ago, restructured its audit, risk management and executive committees in November.