Letter to the honorable Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, on Grameen Bank
LETTER-1
Dear Prime Minister Hasina,
As Members of the United States Congress, we write to urge you to reject the recent recommendations of the Grameen Bank Commission that would jeopardize the role Grameen Bank has played in the critical fight to end poverty in Bangladesh. Grameen Bank has delivered a profound and lasting benefit to the people of Bangladesh. It has allowed millions to lift themselves and their families out of poverty and destitution, creating an independent, borrower-run company that is a model for non-governmental organizations across the globe. Its borrowers 97 percent of whom are women — have demonstrated the power of an economic model centered on equality and inclusion.
Both Bangladesh and the international community have a compelling interest in the safety and soundness of Grameen Bank. However, we are profoundly troubled by recent proposals that would fundamentally alter the future of this Nobel Prize-winning institution.
The Grameen Bank Commission, which was created in May 2012 to offer guidance on the future of Grameen Bank, recently provided the Bangladeshi government with several sets of recommendations. One set would disenfranchise nearly 5 million borrower-shareholders in Grameen Bank and dismiss the borrowers who sit on the Bank’s Board of Directors, replacing them with government officials. A second equally devastating set would give the government a formal majority stake in Grameen Bank, or would break the Bank apart into separate entities with no legal relationship between them.
We believe the implementation of any of these recommendations would be disastrous. Such action would undermine the women borrowers and shareholders who have made the Bank such a success and would compromise the independence that has protected Grameen Bank from political turmoil over the last three decades.
You have committed to combatting poverty and expressed a desire to keep Grameen Bank healthy and stable for generations to come. We share those goals, and as such, we urge you to reject the recommendations of the Grameen Bank Commission and any other effort that would injure this critical institution and the Bangladeshi people.
Sincerely
LETTER-2
Honorable Prime Minister Hasina,
We are allies and friends of Bangladesh—men and women, public servants and businesspeople, and citizens whose countries have all known the sting of poverty. We write to commend your leadership in the fight to end poverty in your country, and to urge you to reject the findings of a recent commission that would jeopardize the role that Grameen Bank and the Grameen family of businesses have played in that fight.
The Grameen family of businesses has delivered a profound and lasting benefit to the people of Bangladesh:
— Grameen Bank has allowed millions to lift themselves and their families out of destitution, creating an independent, borrower-run company and a model for NGOs the world over. Its borrowers, 97% of whom are women, have shown the power of an economic model centered on equality and inclusion.
— The 54 other social businesses within the Grameen family have provided tailored services to the poor and underprivileged: rehabilitating Bangladeshi fisheries; bringing low-cost, nutritionally rich food to impoverished communities; building health clinics to offer affordable medical care; and introducing solar power to rural areas without electricity.
— Their founder, Muhammad Yunus, has been a tireless advocate for Bangladesh’s success in improving the lives of its people.
Both Bangladesh and the international community have a compelling interest in the safety and soundness of these institutions. We commend you for ensuring that Grameen Bank and the Grameen businesses are operating in the interests of the people they are meant to serve.
However, the “Special Commission on Grameen,” created in May 2012, has not shown the same concern for the well-being of these institutions. We believe that it and its members are attempting to lead your government astray, and are putting the Bangladeshi people and their allies at great risk.
The Commission, which was set up to offer guidance on the future of the Grameen businesses, recently provided your Finance Minister with a set of recommendations. These recommendations would disenfranchise nearly 5 million borrower-shareholders in Grameen Bank, dismiss the borrowers who sit on the bank’s board of directors, and replace them with government officials. They would also result in the government seizing portions of the Grameen businesses.
These are recommendations which you and your finance ministry have the right to reject. We believe that implementing them could be disastrous. They would lead Bangladesh to violate its obligations under bilateral investment treaties, and to compromise the independence that has protected Grameen Bank from political turmoil over the last three decades. Moreover, we are concerned that the Commission may not be presenting its work in good faith, after the prolonged absence of half the commission’s members was disclosed in the international press.
You have continued Bangladesh’s progress in combatting poverty and expressed a commitment to keeping Grameen Bank and the Grameen businesseshealthy and stable for generations to come. We share that goal, and we urge you to reject any effort by the Commission that would injure Grameen and the Bangladeshi people.
Sincerely,
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