A battle is brewing over Muhammad Yunus' role at Grameen Bank, the microfinance pioneer he founded in Bangladesh in 1976.
According to a press release posted on Grameen's website Wednesday, Bangladesh's central bank removed Yunus as managing director over "a legal issue." Several news reports have said that because Grameen is partly owned by the government, the 70-year-old Yunus must adhere to the government's mandatory retirement age of 60.
Grameen is disputing this. It said in the release that it has sought legal advice on the matter but insisted that it "has been duly complying with all applicable laws." Yunus "is accordingly continuing in his office," the bank said.
Yunus and Grameen were the recipients of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Grameen was the inspiration for Grameen America Inc., a nonprofit microlender founded in New York in 2008.
