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Questions by critics on Grameen Bank and the facts by Yunus Centre
A debate is now ongoing on the performance and legal standing of Grameen Bank, and the role played by its founder, Prof Muhammad Yunus. Yunus Centre has compiled a set offrequently asked questions and provided answers to them. The Daily Star reproduces, in installments, the full document for the sake of informed public opinion on this vital issue that has attracted tremendous national and international interest.
[Second Installment]
Q7: How many elected female representatives are there in the Grameen Bank board? Who are they? How do they come to the board?
Answer: According to the laws governing Grameen Bank there are nine elected members in the board. The election process within Grameen Bank is specified in the Grameen Bank Election Rules. The members of Grameen Bank are divided into nine constituencies. The election is held in three tiers in each of these constituencies. An election commissioner conducts these elections. Returning officers and polling officers are appointed. The voter list is published. Only those who acquire shares of the bank get enlisted in the voter list. A single representative is elected from each tier. The elected representatives of the first tier become the voters for the second tier. One representative is elected in each of the second tiers. Representatives of the second tier constitute the council of representatives in the third tier. Council member elected in the third tier is the representative in the board from that particular constituency. The one who gets elected as a member of the board has to get elected in each of the three tiers including the final one. The one who becomes a member of the board has to come through a rigorous election procedure. The voters elect representatives in each tier by carefully assessing different attributes of each of the
candidates.
A proof that the members of Grameen Bank are very well accustomed to the election procedures is that 13 Grameen Bank members have been elected as chairmen and 4,022 Grameen Bank members have been elected as members in the last Union Parishad Election. In the Upazilla elections, 98 members got elected as women vice chairmen and one member contested independently against a male candidate and won the position of vice chairman. Additionally, one got elected as a Pourasabha chairman and 148 as Pourasabha councilors.
Apart from this, amongst the families of Grameen Bank members, 47 were elected as chairmen and vice chairmen, and 248 as councilors.
These statistics are only of those who have been elected. The figure of those who have contested but have not won is much higher. Grameen Bank members are closely attached and involved with the election and leadership process. Those who are trying to depict them as uninformed helpless women are completely wrong.
Q8: Are not the women who are elected to the Board of Directors of Grameen Bank puppets in the hand of Professor Yunus? Do they have any actual role in the Board?
Answer: Routine issues come to the Board for decisions. There is no need for decisions on loan proposals at the Board level. Such
issues are settled at the branch and area office level. The Board handles issues of planning, policy proposals and budget. At Board meetings, Board members openly discuss, question, state their opinion and express their satisfaction over all issues being discussed. Many Grameen Bank policies have been changed and many have been formulated on the basis of the opinions of the elected Board members.
The elected members provide the vigour to the Board. In order to satisfy them, the chairman and government representatives make sure that all issues are joindy discussed and decided upon. The Board has a total of 13 members of which the chairman and two secretary ranked officers serve as members of the Board. To date, no decision has been taken on the basis of a vote. Decisions are taken after reaching a consensus. From the very beginning, a learned and respected individual has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grameen Bank. According to the Grameen Bank ordinance provisions made thus far, and the gazette relating to the Election of Grameen Bank Directors, it has been ensured that the representatives in the board are elected in a transparent manner from among the shareholders; and they have been fulfilling their duties accordingly. Presence of the nine shareholder borrowers of Grameen Bank creates a distinctive environment for discussion. Views can be exchanged and various
discussions relating to the operations of the bank can be held with them; no one else in the world possesses such grassroots knowledge and expertise. They are the direct owners of the bank. They are directly affected by the decisions taken in Grameen Bank. Their lives are tied to Grameen Bank. Their presence compels the discussion to be life-oriented.
From the very beginning the chairman, government-nominated directors and the board representatives elected from the borrower-shareholders of Grameen Bank have all played a vital role. One has to remember that it is through their capable management that it was possible for Grameen Bank to achieve a Nobel Prize. When they formulate a policy, pass an order and go back to their respective villages, they know very well if their policy decisions have not pleased the members of Grameen Bank of their village and of the villages around them, they will be under pressure. That elected representative is alone in front of the others. The}' live with the other members and attend weekly meetings with them. The elected representative will never do anything to aggravate the others.
Q9: Hasn't Grameen Bank been extorting money from poor people through very high interest rates just like the money lenders?
Answer: Of all microcredit organisations, governmental or non-governmental, Grameen
Bank's interest rate is the lowest. The highest rate of interest in Grameen Bank is 20%. This is a simple interest. The interest rate is set with a diminishing interest rate method, which at a flat rate comes to 10%. Bangladesh Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) has set the highest interest rate for any microcredit institutions to be 27%, which is 7% higher than Grameen Bank's rate.
Grameen Bank's Housing Loan has a yearly rate of 8%. Grameen Bank also has a Higher Studies Loan programme, which during the period of education is 0% (i.e. no interest) and after completion of studies is 5%. Loans given to beggars have an interest rate of 0% (in other words no interest is charged). Grameen Bank's interest is the lowest among all the microcredit institutions of Bangladesh, and it gives the highest interest on the savings (ranging from 8.5% to 12%).
All of this information has been available in various policy publications and the website of Grameen Bank for a long time now. This information is known to Bangladesh Bank and other relevant regulatory authorities as well. Yet a lot of well known and responsible people take freedom to mention in the media imaginary higher interest rates as they please. This is very unfortunate indeed.
It should be mentioned here that even after the retirement of Professor Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank in 2011, the interest rate charged and collection
methods of Grameen Bank have remained unchanged.
Q10: Aren't the members of Grameen Bank being oppressed by forcing them to create a saving in a compulsory manner?
Answer: Grameen Bank started with a policy of compulsory savings. Over time the amount of compulsory savings was reduced. Since the members were encouraged themselves to save, the compulsory savings scheme was eventually abolished. Now savings is no longer compulsory in Grameen Bank. From the very beginning Grameen Bank has provided an interest of 8.5% to 12% on savings (Microfinance Regulatory Authority has set 6% to be the lowest interest on savings for all microfinance institutions). The members of Grameen Bank are thus encouraged to save more and more. For example, members show a lot of enthusiasm in the pension fund savings. They get a return of 12% on this. Their savings grow faster. Many members save in single long-term schemes. The money being saved can be withdrawn at any time, even on the day after they have deposited it. Currently the total value of saving by Grameen Bank members is Tk.7,000 crore. Where there is no scope for compulsory savings, how does the issue of oppression through forced savings arise?
(To be continued)