The Grameen Bank Commission will submit its final report after Eid vacation without any clear recommendations about the 52 organisations bearing the name of Grameen.
Chairman of the commission and former secretary Mamun-ur-Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune on Friday that the commission did not have enough time to prepare a guideline as to how the 52 organisations would run due to a lack of documents.
The organisations have been saying they are separate from the Grameen Bank and registered as a joint stock company. The commission however, terms them as 52 associate bodies of the bank.
The government formed the four-member commission last May to review the activities of Grameen Bank. The commission submitted an interim report in February that immediately sparked protests from the bank's directors and staff. Later, the commission's tenure was extended to July 20.
The commission has already informed the finance division about these issues before submitting the final report, a source in finance ministry told the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
Mamun-ur-Rashid said the commission would recommend three options for the government to bring changes to the legal structure of Grameen Bank. "These include increasing the government share to 51% from the existing 25% and splitting the microcredit entity into 19 zones or modifying it to the model of erstwhile Shilpa Bank."
"The government might also amend the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 to run it like a private commercial bank," he added. The commission's interim report also created a stir with its investigation into Grameenphone's licence.
The first and largest private mobile operator in the country acquired its licence in 1996. The interim report, however, said the commission had found the licencing did not follow due process.
The report recommended Grameenphone's licence to be suspended immediately, or be allowed to operate under the condition that the biggest stakeholder Norwegian telecom giant Telenor will immediately relinquish 16% of Grameenphone's shares to Grameen Bank.
Mamun-ur-Rashid said the commission would not make any further recommendations about Grameenphone as the findings put forward in the interim report were sufficient.
"I will submit the report to the finance minister after two other members of the commission, including Ajmalul Hossain QC, who are now out of Dhaka, return," he said.