14-point Grameen Bank Takeover Plan

Perhaps I was naive in bothering to parse the nuances of the criticisms of the Grameen Bank from the Bangladeshi finance ministry and the investigative committee. It seems that the government is moving ahead with all the nuance of a bulldozer:

The government has planned to raise its stake in the Grameen Bank and establish control over its lucrative sister firms in a move that will transform the Nobel winning micro-lender into another state-owned bank.The finance ministry has outlined the plan in a 14-point blueprint, which follows the controversial sacking of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus from the micro-lender he founded in 1983.

I would think that a move to nationalize private firms with substantial assets such as Grameen Telecom would have a chilling effect on foreign investment in Bangladesh.Then there is this provision:

The government has also planned to impose tax at source on the income generated from the bank’s deposit, like other commercial banks. The National Board of Revenue will issue an order in this connection soon after the approval from the Prime Minister, said a source.

I gather that interest earnings on Grameen Bank deposits are taxable, and withholding would reduce tax evasion. But coming when the Bank is so vulnerable, this move would heighten the danger of a run on the Grameen Bank.