Pres urges more vigilance on bank's customer funds

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday urged the management of Bank of Maldives (BML) to make effective arrangements to ensure that the money in the peoples’ accounts is maintained in a more secure manner.

The president's call to strengthen the management of the money saved by the public comes at a time when there have been a spate of scams and complaints that millions of Rufiyaa have been siphoned off from the accounts of some people in the bank in the last one year alone.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the bank at Crossroads Thursday evening, president Solih said the bank's primary duty should be to faithfully maintain the money kept by the public and businessmen in bank accounts and protect it. Stating that the bank is linked to the aspirations of the people, he said the public and businesses need to maintain their faith in the bank. To achieve this, the president called for more measures to protect the money that businesses and the public deposit in banks.

"Traders and common people are handing over the bank to save their hard-earned money because they have a lot of faith in the bank. It is the bank's primary duty, the utmost responsibility, to keep the money safe and secure with honesty and care. Make more effective arrangements to ensure that these beliefs are maintained safely," he said.

His next appeal to the bank was to make it easier for traders to do so. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih urged the national bank BML and the central bank, MMA, to ease the recent tightening of the policy of sending money or making TT for students studying abroad.

"Parents have concerns about limiting the TT of students studying abroad, that was announced recently. Therefore, the shareholders of the bank and those seeking services from the bank would like the central bank MMA and the BML to address the above concerns in this regard," he said concluding his  speech. 

With the New Year, the MMA has informed banks that only those students who are pursuing courses from A level to above will be able to make the TTs made for foreign students in Rufiyaa.

In his speech, the President described the changes that have taken place in the country's economy in collaboration with the bank. The President said that since the establishment of BML, a whole new door has been opened for Maldivians to receive financial assistance. He said tourism and fisheries have got a big lease of life because of the bank's loans. He said the bank's role in infrastructure development is also significant. In this regard, he added:

"Even before the bank, three banks were operating in the country... However, the real benefits to the society started coming from the BML. With the expansion of BML services, there has been a sudden shift in the field of infrastructure development," he said.

The president noted that the country's economic crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic was sustained due to the bank's support. He said the loans given to businesses and the public's concessions to repay loans have kept the economy in check. At that time, he pointed out that the bank was very helpful in getting the financial support that the economy needed.

Noting that the bank has more than 1,000 local employees, he expressed gratitude for the services rendered by the employees in the bank's long history. He also highlighted the contribution of BML’s social responsibility to individuals and NGOs in need of assistance in the community.

"It's an important contribution," he said.