The secretaries of ministries have been barred from serving as chairpersons and directors of the 16 state banks and financial institutions in the latest guideline from the finance ministry as the government looks to enhance corporate governance in the organisations.

Seven months after the government announced a Tk 2,000 crore “recapitalisation” of state-owned banks, the financial institutions have started asking for fresh money from the government. This time their demand is much higher -- a little over Tk 20,000 crore -- than what they were given in the budget for this year.