Abdul Awal Mintoo, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Feni-3, has resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of National Bank PLC following his election to Parliament. He has been succeeded by Professor Melita Mehjabeen.
According to the bank’s official website, Mehjabeen was elected chairman at the 539th meeting of the board of directors on February 28. Prior to her appointment, she served as an independent director of the bank.
Under regulations, elected Members of Parliament are not permitted to hold the position of chairman of any bank, prompting Mintoo’s resignation. Subsequently, the board elected Mehjabeen as the new chairman. She also serves as an independent director of Grameenphone, British American Tobacco, and Unilever Consumer Care Bangladesh.
Mehjabeen completed her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka, and joined IBA as a lecturer in 2009. As a Commonwealth Scholar, she earned a PhD in Accounting and Finance from the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. She also holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Colombo.
Before entering academia, Mehjabeen worked in the corporate sector for nearly five years, holding positions at British American Tobacco and Citi Bank NA.
In August 2024, Bangladesh Bank dissolved National Bank’s board for the third time over allegations of irregularities and formed a new board, which included three directors and four independent directors. At that time, the board included shareholder and BNP Vice-Chairman Mintoo, along with Moazzem Hossain and Zakaria Taher.
Previously, the Awami League government had instructed National Bank to waive interest of Tk 2,310 crore on loans taken by various companies affiliated with S. Alam Group. On December 22, 2021, Bangladesh Bank directed the then-Managing Director of National Bank to waive interest and restructure the remaining loans of S. Alam Group companies, with separate letters sent to the borrowing institutions.