Dr. Atiur Rahman
Governor, Bangladesh Bank :
I feel quite happy to talk about a visionary man whose commitment for the poor is unparalleled. Starting from a tiny micro finance institution, he made an incredible journey and is now owning a private commercial bank named Bandhan Bank. Bandhan is a Bengali word meaning bond or togetherness. Bandhan Bank began operations as a full-fledged bank in August 2015 with the twin objectives of women empowerment and poverty eradication. So far as my knowledge goes, Bandhan Bank is the first instance in India of a microfinance entity transforming into a universal bank. Its statistics are also most fascinating. It started operations with 1.43 crore accounts, around Rs.10,500 crore loan book and 19,500 employees. Today, it has got 501 branches, 2022 service centers and 50 ATMs across 24 states. What is praiseworthy is that , the bank commits to open over 71 per cent of the branches in rural India, including at least 35 per cent in unbanked rural pockets.
Now let me share some positive achievements of the banking sector of Bangladesh. As Bangladesh already got the status of Lower Middle Income Country and steadily marches towards Middle Income Country, our financing needs have evolved. Our financial system have grown and matured over the years, which enabled financing of a wider economic base.
In accordance with needs and maturity, we have actively leveraged the financial system for innovating and deepening empowerment initiatives, for example, in agriculture, MSME, women entrepreneurship, green financing, improving the quality of our growth. These initiatives empowered poor community of the country and boosted domestic demand.
The achievement of our Mobile Financial Services (MFS), a cost efficient off branch financial service delivery mode. Bangladesh Bank has embraced MFS early on, spearheading a bank-led model with spectacular success in reaching out to virtually all population segments including those in far remote locations. With one more vehicle we want to reach to the unbanked people, that is Agent Banking.
This strategy served as a milestone in financial inclusion. At the end of September 2015, the number of total agents was 533,485, and the number of registered customers was almost 29.2 million, of which active accounts were almost 11.27 million under Mobile Financial Services (MFS). The number of total transactions was 10.64 crore in September 2015 while the amount of total transactions was BDT 15.07 thousand crore at the end of the same month.
