An overview of Foreign Commercial Banks in Bangladesh

foreign banks of Bangladesh

Foreign commercial banks are those banks that are incorporated abroad, later they opened their branch in Bangladesh. There are 9 FCBs operating in Bangladesh.

List of foreign commercial banks in Bangladesh

  • Bank Al-Falah Ltd (Pakistan)
  • Citibank N.A. (USA)
  • Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC  Ltd(Sri Lanka)
  • Habib Bank Ltd (Pakistan)
  • HSBC (Hong Kong)
  • National Bank of Pakistan (Pakistan)
  • Standard Chartered Bank (UK)
  • State Bank of India (India)
  • Woori Bank (South Korea)

Bank Al-Falah Ltd (Bangladesh):

Bank Al-Falah is the fifth-largest bank in Pakistan and they have more than 700 branches. This Pakistani bank was founded on June 21, 1997.

It’s headquarter is located in Karachi. Except from Pakistan, They have a strong presence in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain and a representative office in the UAE. The ABU DHABI group is the owner of this bank.

In 2014, the International Finance Corporation becomes a partner of this bank, they hold 15% stake. Merging with Shamil Bank of Bahrain, it starts its operation in Bangladesh in 2005.

It has seven Branches in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.

The bank provides financial solutions to consumers, businesses, institutions and governments through a wide range of products and services, including corporate and investment banking, consumer banking and lending, brokerage securities, commerce, SMEs, agricultural financing, Islamic and heritage financial solutions.

Citibank N.A. (Bangladesh):

Citibank starts its journey on1812 which has 2649 branches in 19 countries across the world. It’s headquarter is located in New York City.

In 1987, CITI commenced its business in Bangladesh and it’s headquarter is located on  8 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan-1, Dhaka 1212.

First, they opened a representative office. In 1995, they opened a full-service branch in Dhaka. It has now 4 branches and 4 serving outlets. It has branches only on Dhaka and Chattogram.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC Ltd (Bangladesh):

 CBC has a long and traditional history of more than 90 years. It was founded in 1920, named Eastern bank Limited. Later it changed a lot and finally achieved this shape.

It’s headquarter is located in Colombo. Besides Sri Lanka, it has branches in Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar and Italy.

CBC starts its operation in Bangladesh by acquiring Credit Agricole Indosuez’s two branches in Dhaka and Chattogram and it became the first Sri Lankan bank that starts its business outside the country.

It has now 11 branches, 2 specialized OBU sections and 6 SME centers in Bangladesh.  

Habib Bank Ltd (Bangladesh):

Habib Bank is the largest bank in Pakistan which is owned by Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. It was commenced banking in 1941, the first bank of Pakistan which opened its first branch outside Pakistan in 1951 in Sri Lanka.

It has more than 1700 branches located in 25 countries. Its headquarter is located in Karachi. In 1976, it starts its operation in Bangladesh. It has seven branches and six ATM booths in Bangladesh.

HSBC (Bangladesh):

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is known as HSBC which was founded in 1865, is the largest bank of Hong Kong.

HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. It serve more than 40 million customers across their global businesses: Wealth & Personal Banking, Commercial Banking and Global Banking & Markets.

Their network covers 64 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, North America and Latin America.

Listed on the London, Hong Kong, New York and Bermuda stock exchanges, HSBC Holdings plc shares are held by approximately 194,000 shareholders in 130 countries and territories.

Its headquarter is located in HSBC main building, Central, Hong Kong.

HSBC starts its operation in Bangladesh in 1996.  Its main focus is on Dhaka and Chattogram.

National Bank of Pakistan (Bangladesh):

 NPB was founded in 1949 and is a Pakistani government-owned commercial bank. Its first branch was in East Pakistan (Bangladesh). NPB has international branches in more than 19 countries.

It’s headquarter is located in Karachi. This bank has Controlling office for Bangladesh in Gulshan, (80, Gulshan Avenue), Dhaka.

NPB starts its banking operation in Bangladesh in August 1994 in Dhaka. It has branches on Chattogram and Sylhet. It has five branches in Bangladesh.

Standard Chartered Bank (Bangladesh):

Standard Chartered Bank was founded in 1853 which is a British bank. It has more than 1200 Branches and outlets in more than 70 countries.

Its headquarter is located in London, England. It opened its first branches in Bangladesh in 1948. It acquires Grindlays Bank in August 2000 and also acquired American Express Bank in 2006  and started its operation in Bangladesh.

It is the first international bank to extend credit lines to independent Bangladesh and it opens first LC in Bangladesh in 1972. It introduces Bangladesh’s first ATM card, Debit card, Credit card, Shariah-based Credit card, 24-hour call center, etc.

State Bank of India (Bangladesh): 

The bank established in 1806, named Bank of Calcutta. In 1955, it got its present name as State Bank of India. SBI is the oldest and largest bank in India having a 23% market share of assets.

It’s headquarter is located in Mumbai. In 2015, it opened 191 international branches in 36 countries. From 1862 its presence was in the land of Bangladesh.

There was a little interruption from 1962 to 1974. SBI again starts its operation in Bangladesh in 1975. Now, SBI has three branches and two offshore units in Bangladesh.

Woori Bank (Bangladesh):

The bank was established in 1899 and its name was Daehan Cheon-il Bank. It was named as Woori bank in 2002.

Its headquarter is located in Seoul, South Korea. It has services in three countries; Bangladesh, India and Indonesia.

Woori bank opened its branch in Bangladesh in 1996. Now it has five branches in Bangladesh. It’s Bangladeshi controlling office is located on Suvastu Imam Square, 65 Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.

References

  1. About Bank Al Falah BD 2. About Citibank BD 3. About Commercial Bank of Ceylon BD 4. About Habib bank BD 5. About HSBC BD 6. NBP BD 7. SC BD 8. State Bank of India BD

About ataur

I am Ataur Rahman Ferdous a bangladeshi citizen. I have completed my graduation from Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Bangladesh.

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