Premier Leasing and Finance Limited
{{Short description|Non-bank financial institution}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Premier Leasing and Finance Limited
| logo =
| alt = PLFL
| caption =
| map =
| abbreviation =
| type =
| founded = {{start date and age |1995}}
| industry = Financial services
| purpose =
| hq_location_city = Dhaka
| hq_location_country = Bangladesh
| key_people = Abu Sadek Md. Sohel (Chairman), Md. Fazlur Rahman (Managing director){{Cite web |title=Premier Leasing & Finance Ltd |url=https://www.premierleasing.com.bd/directors.php |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=www.premierleasing.com.bd}}{{Cite news |title=Fazlur Rahman joins Premier Leasing & Finance Limited as MD |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/167157/fazlur-rahman-joins-premier-leasing-finance-limited-as-md |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=New Age |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Sadek elected Premier Leasing chair |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/160531/sadek-elected-premier-leasing-chair |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=New Age |language=en}}
| num_employees =
| website = {{URL|https://www.premierleasing.com.bd/}}
}}
Premier Leasing and Finance Limited , also known as PLFL, is a major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh that provides leasing finance.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-01 |title=ASM Feroz Alam re-elected as chairman of Premier Leasing Securities |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/corporates/asm-feroz-alam-re-elected-chairman-premier-leasing-securities-469170 |access-date=2022-10-16 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}}
History
Premier Leasing and Finance Limited was established on 26 September 2001 as Premier Leasing International Limited.{{Cite web |title=Premier Leasing & Finance Ltd |url=https://www.premierleasing.com.bd/about.php |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=www.premierleasing.com.bd}}
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission approved initial public offering by Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2005.{{Cite news |title=Four NBFIs get SEC nod to go public |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2005/06/30/d50630050649.htm |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |agency=bdnews}} At the same time, it approved the IPO's of Progressive Life Insurance Company Limited, Sonar Bangla Insurance Company Limited, and Islamic Finance and Investment Limited.
In 2007, Premier Leasing International Limited was renamed to Premier Leasing and Finance Limited.
Mizanur Rahman Shelley was reelected chairman of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2009.{{Cite news |date=2009-06-28 |title=Premier Leasing chairman re-elected |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-94636 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} SM Shamsul Alam was appointed managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2010.{{Cite news |date=2013-07-19 |title=Premier Leasing reappoints managing director |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/premier-leasing-reappoints-managing-director |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
In June 2012, AZM Akramul Haq was re-elected chairman of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited.{{Cite news |date=2012-06-13 |title=Premier Leasing & Finance re-elects chair |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-238147 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
SM Shamsul Alam was re-appointed managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2013. SM Shafiqul Islam Mamun was reelected chairman of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2015.{{Cite news |date=2015-07-06 |title=Premier Leasing re-elects office bearers |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/premier-leasing-re-elects-office-bearers-108025 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} Abdul Hamid Mia was appointed the managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2016.{{Cite news |date=2016-05-01 |title=Premier Leasing gets new MD |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/premier-leasing-gets-new-md-1217041 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
In 2019, almost 30 percent or 450 million taka of all loans of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited had defaulted.{{Cite news |last=Habib |first=Ahsan |date=2020-10-01 |title=Premier Leasing's classified loans surge 114pc |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/premier-leasings-classified-loans-surge-114pc-1970389 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} AZM Akramul Haq was elected chairman of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited in 2019.{{Cite news |date=2019-08-11 |title=AZM Akramul Haq chairman of Premier Leasing and Finance |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/azm-akramul-haq-chairman-premier-leasing-and-finance-1784782 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} Its creditors, Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited and Janata Bank Limited, were having difficulty recovering their money from it.{{Cite news |last=Uddin |first=AKM Zamir |date=2021-01-27 |title=Commerce Bank, Janata run into a quagmire |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/commerce-bank-janata-run-quagmire-2034565 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
On 4 December 2020, Bangladesh Bank appointed AKM Mohiuddin Azad administrator of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited following an order of Bangladesh High Court.{{Cite news |date=2020-12-04 |title=BB appoints administrator at troubled Premier Leasing |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bb-appoints-administrator-troubled-premier-leasing-2005597 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} Bangladesh Bank refused to accept the resignation letter of Abdul Hamid Mia, the managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited, in March 2021.{{Cite news |last=Uddin |first=AKM Zamir |date=2021-03-02 |title=BB refuses to let Premier Leasing MD go |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bb-refuses-let-premier-leasing-md-go-2053397 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} During his tenure at the institution its financials declined significantly. The loans were defaulted with the help of Md. Shah Alam who was a senior official of Bangladesh Bank and an aid of swindler PK Halder.{{Cite news |date=2021-02-23 |title=Premier Leasing is moribund and it is also thanks to a BB executive |url=https://archive.dhakatribune.com/business/banks/2021/02/24/premier-leasing-is-moribund-and-it-is-also-thanks-to-a-bb-executive |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=Dhaka Tribune}} The total defaulted loan of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited stood at 7.66 billion taka.{{Cite news |date=2021-12-27 |title=6 NBFIs burdened with Tk6,916cr default loans |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/6-nbfis-burdened-tk6916cr-default-loans-349222 |access-date=2022-10-16 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}} It has also failed to recover 1.94 billion taka deposit from BASIC Bank Limited.
Subash Chandra Moulick, managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited, said it was finding it difficult to pay back large amounts to banks in February 2022.{{Cite news |last=Uddin |first=AKM Zamir |date=2022-02-10 |title=Troubled NBFIs render Tk 1,000cr bank loans sour |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/banks/news/troubled-nbfis-render-tk-1000cr-bank-loans-sour-2958656 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} In April 2022, Md. Fazlur Rahman was appointed the managing director of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-06 |title=New MD for Premier Leasing |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/organisation-news/news/new-md-premier-leasing-2998891 |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} In August 2022, ASM Feroz Alam, vice-chairman of Mercantile Bank Limited, was elected chairman of Premier Leasing Securities, subsidiary of Premier Leasing and Finance Limited.{{Cite news |title=Feroz Alam re-elected PLSL chairman |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/177363/feroz-alam-re-elected-plsl-chairman |access-date=2022-10-15 |work=New Age |language=en}}