Rejoinder to Sikder family feud report

The private National Bank Limited has issued a rejoinder to the report, ‘National Bank: Feud in Sikder family, loan documents not found’, published in Prothom Alo on 18 April.

In a letter issued by an unnamed public relations officer of the bank, the bank protested the issues related to the feud in Sikder family. It said the report is motivated, fabricated and baseless, and nothing but a move to tarnish the image of the bank, its shareholders and the Sikder family.

The rejoinder said, currently Monowara Sikder, wife of Zainul Abedin Sikder, is carrying out responsibility as the bank’s chairman. The National Bank, as a financial institution, has shown positive success for its shareholders and such motivated , misleading and baseless publicity is aimed to harm this. The Sikder family had always been united with love and trust among each other and are highly regarded as a happy, responsible and charitable family at home and abroad. There is no way that the family's peace can be disrupted at the provocation of any vested quarter.

The letter further said, “The National Bank family is mourning the sudden death of the chairman of Sikder Group, Zainul Abedin Sikder. So, we urge the customers and the well-wishers of the bank not to worry or be misled by the motivated, misleading and baseless publicity and to keep full faith in the bank and to continue extending cooperation during this time.”

Following the death of National Bank chairman Zainul Haque Sikder, members of the Sikder family have been divided over the control and management of the bank. The central bank has been investigating the several irregularities. Disputes also arose over these matters at the last meeting of the bank’s board of directors. And Prothom Alo reported on these issues.