Trade And Development Bank Of Mongolia
Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia’s long-planned merger with Ulaanbaatar City Bank (UCB), announced in June 2020, made good sense on many levels.
The two share the same owner, which is handy for getting the deal signed off quickly. TDBM, the bigger partner, is better at corporate banking, while UCB specializes in lending to SMEs. The deal, notes TDBM executive vice-chairman Randolph Koppa, “complements our strong position in corporate banking, helps to broaden our deposit base, and pushes our market share of nationwide SME banking to more than 20%”. Koppa reckons the bank accounts for 55% of all corporate banking flows, and 75% of all payments.
TDBM, led by chief executive Orkhon Onon, plays a vital role in a country that is heavily dependent on trade with east Asian countries, particularly China: its importance increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Mongolia shut its borders twice.
The bank also showed its resilience after the Financial Action Task Force put Mongolia on its grey list of nations accused of failing to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in 2019.