MUSCAT -- To better serve the banking needs of Bangladeshi guest workers in the Sultanate, BRAC Bank Limited has teamed up with Mustafa Sultan Exchange (MSE) Company under the management of State Bank of India, and announced the introduction of new and speedier financial services, at a press conference held at the Passage to India Restaurant, yesterday.
A panel made up of Naushad Hussain, Vice-President, and Syed Faisal Omar, Assistant Vice-President, of BRAC Bank currently on a GCC-wide tour and I Sashi Pongener, General Manager and Ravella Venkateswara Rao, Chief Manager, of MSE, addressed the press and explained the services and how they can better serve migrant Bangladeshi employees.
A fully operational Commercial Bank, BRAC Bank focuses on pursuing unexplored market niches in small and medium size enterprises and for remittances, which has largely remained untapped within the country. Over the last 4 years, the bank has disbursed more than BDT 15 billion in loans to nearly 30,000 small and medium sized entrepreneurships. The management of the bank believes that this sector of the economy can contribute the most to the rapid generation of employment in Bangladesh.
Since BRAC Bank's inception in July 2001, the bank has achieved good growth with 19 branches, 321 SME unit offices and 16 ATM sites across the country. Its customer base has expanded to 130,000 deposit and 45,000 advance accounts through 2005. In the years ahead, the bank expects to introduce many more services and products, as well as further widen its network of SME unit offices, increase retail branches and ATMs.
Remittance service is one of BRAC Bank's core business areas and their primary goal is to provide a seamless service to the ultimate beneficiary of remittances right across Bangladesh. In order to deliver their services promptly, they are using innovative techniques through their network of branches, correspondent banks and especially BRAC field offices.
BRAC, which along with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Shorecap International, have institutional shareholding of BRAC Bank (considered to be the fastest growing bank in Bangladesh over the last 2 years) is the world's largest Non-Government Organisation (NGO), with over 1600 offices all over Bangladesh and provides the backbone of the bank's remittance network.
BRAC Bank has already electronically connected 502 BRAC offices throughout the country, which allow for fast and expeditious service to beneficiary families in the remote villages of rural Bangladesh. At present the network is being expanded to over 750 outlets throughout Bangladesh by the end of 2006.
In this regard, and with its link-up with MSE, Bangladeshi employees working in the Sultanate can expect to have their remittances reach beneficiaries in Bangladesh's major cities within 24 hours and to remote rural areas by 48-72 hours. The door-to-door remittance product of the bank ensures that remittance proceeds will reach beneficiaries within 24 hours.
Non-resident Bangladeshis have the option of selecting from a wide range of BRAC Bank facilities and services, such as Probashi savings account, Probashi DPS, Probashi fixed deposit and Probashi Abiram Account. As a still emerging and highly successful bank (recording a 103 per cent growth in assets and a 65 per cent growth in liabilities, with an operating profit of 84 per cent over the previous year, 2004) and with its new tie-up arrangement with MSE customers stand to benefit from improved services and better rates for sending out remittances.
By Ali Ahmed al Riyami
© Oman Daily Observer 2006
