Bangladesh

Bangladesh was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Following safety measures is a luxury if these stop people going to work, especially in a country where the poverty rate is about 20%. The City Bank, under the leadership of managing director and chief executive Mashrur Arefin, stepped up to help the country face this new threat.

IDLC started financing small and medium-sized enterprises in 2006 with six employees based out of a dedicated SME branch in the Bogra District of northern Bangladesh. The firm has grown to include a network of 28 SME branches and 442 staff, and contributes 37% of IDLC’s total loan portfolio.

The City Bank took the initiative and made the best of a bad situation in 2020, introducing a series of innovative digital products and services, as well as revamping its mobile banking platform.

Few will be surprised by this choice. Standard Chartered has been operating in the Bangladesh for 116 years, making it the oldest foreign bank in the country. It is part of the firmament in a way no other foreign bank can hope to emulate.

Dhaka Bank has been focused on corporate banking since its inception 25 years ago. It has spent much of that time fostering relationships with Bangladesh’s large business conglomerates and now counts most of them among its client base.

Eastern Bank is known for its corporate banking expertise serving Bangladeshi industry, but in the past year it has also made a big effort to broaden its services for retail investors in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

No other lender in Bangladesh can compete with The City Bank’s priority banking division, Citygem. This is the third year in a row that the lender, now run by chief executive Mashrur Arefin, has secured this award, and it shows no sign of being bested by its peers, or of resting on its laurels. Each year, the Citygem team finds new services to offer to a customer base that numbers more than 4,500, and which is only set to grow further in line with Bangladesh’s expanding economy.

Banks in Bangladesh were struggling with poor performance even before coronavirus spread to the country; the pandemic is worsening the impact of a recent policy misstep.

The payments company has attracted a who’s who of investors – but as competition rises, its founder is now pushing for more, not less, regulatory oversight.