Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited started operation as Bangladesh's first joint venture bank. From the onset, the focus of the bank has been financing high-growth manufacturing industries in Bangladesh. The rationale being that the manufacturing sector exports Bangladeshi products worldwide. Thereby financing and concentrating on this sector allows Bangladesh to achieve the desired growth. DBBL's other focus is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). DBBL is the pioneer in this sector and termed the contribution simply as 'social responsibility'. Due to its investment in this sector, DBBL has become one of the largest donors and the largest bank donor in Bangladesh. The bank has won numerous international awards because of its unique approach as a socially conscious bank.

The bank conducts all types of commercial banking activities including customer services related to local and foreign remittances but its core business is trade financing. It also extends short and medium-term loans to industrial undertakings on a limited scale. Innovative products on credit and deposit scheme introduced by the bank are commission free remittance, the 'Money Plant' scheme, monthly term deposits, small credit facilities for shop owners, small-scale taxi cab loans, small-scale transport loans and consumer credit

Basic Facts and Economic Indicators (In Million Taka)

Indicators	2018	2019	2020
Authorized Capital	4000	15000	15000
Paid up Capital	2000	5000	5500
Reserved Fund	9193	9193	9193
Deposits	262467	302159	362611
a) Call Deposits	89791	104816	126841
b) Term Deposits	172676	197343	235770
Loans and Advance	231553.1	256239.7	273439.8
Investment	32208	55105	112590
Total Asset	346469	390362	472355
Total Income	29215	34706	34679
Total Expenditure	21991	23446	24178
Foreign Currency Trading	397401	449336	408478
a) Export	151484	141689	109086
b) Import	167371	143653	127925
c) Remittance	78546	163994	171467
Total Manpower	8195	9988	10022
a) Officers	8195	9988	10022
b) Staff	0	0	0
Correspondent Banks	560	560	480
Total Branches (in numbers)	184	195	208
a) Domestic	184	195	208
b) Overseas	0	0	0
Agriculture Credit
Loan Disbursed	2269.8	5326.9	6819
Realised	3853.1	3914.5	5941.8
Industrial Credit
Loan Disbursed	196838	209075.7	149304.2
Realsied	181719.7	192064.3	137445.5
Loan Outstanding by Sector
Agriculture and Fisheries and Forestry	2311.8	3481.4	4493.1
Industry	59599.5	76704.9	84980.7
Trade and Commerce	29631.5	30344.7	30178.2
Poverty Reduction	0	0
CSR	835	876.6	691

Source Government of Bangladesh, Ministry of Finance, Banking and Financial Institution Division, Barshik Protibedon [Annual Report on Banks and Financial Institutions], 2019-20 and 2020-21.

A 6-member board of directors comprising a chairman and four representatives from local sponsors and three representatives from the Netherlands Development Finance Company oversees the management of the bank. The managing director is appointed by the board who runs the bank's day-to-day business with the assistance of 3 DMD, 24 senior executives and around 10220 other employees working in various grades. In March 2021, the bank had 64 branches in different towns of Bangladesh.

DBBL was the first bank in Bangladesh to be fully automated. The Electronic-Banking Division was established in 2002 to undertake rapid automation and bring modern banking services into this field. Full automation was completed in 2003 and hereby introduced plastic money to the Bangladeshi masses. DBBL also operates the nation's largest ATM fleet and in the process drastically cut consumer costs and fees by 80%. DBBL had pursued the mass automation in Banking as a CSR activity and never intended profitability from this sector. As a result, it now provides unrivaled banking technology offerings to all its customers. Because of this mindset, most local banks have joined DBBL's banking infrastructure instead of pursuing their own. Dutch-Bangla Bank stock set the record for the highest share price in the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2008.

In 2020, bank deposits accounted for 2.4 per cent of total banking sector deposits and loans and advances accounted for 2.3 per cent of total banking sector loans and advances. The average interest rate differential between June 2020 based deposits and loans and advances was 7.9 percent. [Muhammad Abdul Mazid]