Dhaka , Bangladesh ( CNN ) -- The Bangladeshi government has been asked to find a compromise to bring an end to the Grameen Bank crisis created by removing its founder , microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus . `` We remain hopeful that a compromise solution can be reached to the satisfaction of all parties , '' said Robert O. Blake , U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs , as he was wrapping up his four-day Bangladesh visit on Tuesday . Yunus `` has brought great honor to Bangladesh , and we in the United States have been deeply troubled by the difficulties he is currently facing , '' Blake said at a press conference at American Club in Dhaka . Blake said failure to achieve a compromise would have some effect on bilateral relations between the two countries . `` As a friend and partner of Bangladesh , we are concerned about the dampening effect this will have on civil society in general and on the integrity and effectiveness of Grameen Bank in particular , '' he said . `` We see it is a distraction and an unnecessary departure from all great work being done in Bangladesh , '' he said . Blake , who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday , met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ; Khaleda Zia , leader of the opposition in Parliament ; Finance Minister AMA Muhith ; senior government officials , Yunus and civil society members . Earlier this month , the 70-year-old Yunus was removed from Grameen Bank , which he founded three decades ago . The Central Bank of Bangladesh , the regulatory authority in the South Asian nation , cited his age in explaining his removal as managing director . The government , which has a 25 % stake in Grameen , said the bank 's rules required Yunus to end his service when he turned 60 . Yunus challenged the order and filed a petition with the High Court , which finally upheld the government order . Yunus and nine directors of his Grameen Bank again filed two petitions with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the High Court order . The petitions are now pending with the Appellate Division , and the case is expected to come up for hearing by the end of March . Grameen 's work cast a global spotlight on microcredit , a then-novel idea of making small loans to poor people who would not qualify for standard bank loans . For their efforts , Yunus and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 . He also was awarded the American Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal . Blake said of Yunus : `` His work over the past decades to lift millions of women out of poverty is internationally recognized . '' As Blake met Hasina , also present was former World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn , one of the founders of Friends of Grameen , an international forum supporting Yunus and his Grameen Bank . He was in Dhaka on a private visit . Earlier , U.S . Senator John Kerry , D-Massachusetts , said in a statement that he was `` deeply concerned '' about the efforts to remove Yunus as managing director of the bank . `` The international community will watch this situation closely , and I hope that both sides can reach a compromise that maintains Grameen Bank 's autonomy and effectiveness , '' said Kerry , who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee . `` Institutions like the Grameen Bank make a significant contribution to Bangladesh 's development and democracy , and Professor Yunus ' lifelong work to reduce poverty and empower women through microloans has deservedly received worldwide attention and respect , '' Kerry said . Yunus ' supporters have said the government 's effort to remove him has little to do with age and much to do with opposition to microcredit and Grameen 's execution of it . Critics of microcredit have charged that lenders were making big money from small loans . Others have suggested that the actions against Yunus are politically motivated , a claim denied by the government . Yunus ' supporters say he has been under fire for criticizing politicians and trying to form his own political party four years ago during an interim , unelected , military-backed government . That party was later abandoned .
Grameen Bank official says Dhaka is `` deeply troubled '' by the situation . Yunus and 60 State Department directors have petitions pending before appeals court . the Nobel Peace Prize was removed as head of bank he founded .