Bengal Commercial Bank (BCB) cherishes the vision of making a profound impact in the growth of banking industry and stand out as the most preferred, unique and contemporary financial service provider of the country, said Managing Director and CEO of Bengal Commercial Bank (BCB), Tarik Morshed in an exclusive interview with daily Bangladesh Post.
"We look forward to having sequential growth in mind. We are eager to conglomerate all the latest technology-based services in the financial and banking affairs", Morshed added.
Tarik Morshed, a highly experienced and dynamic banker, having expertise in the commercial banking for quite a long period of time, has been at the helm of the latest generation private sector commercial bank, the BCB, aims at extending financial support to create successful entrepreneur in different sectors so that they might add fuel to the economic growth for turning the nation into a developed one by the year 2041.
The excerpts of his interview are produced for the valued readers of Bangladesh Post.
Bangladesh Post: First of all let’s express our heartfelt congratulations and greetings to you on becoming the Managing Director & CEO of a latest generation private sector commercial bank. Would you please share your impressions and reactions with us?
Tarik Morshed: First of all, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Board of Directors for appointing me as the Managing Director & CEO of the Bank. This is a 5th Generation commercial bank with the vision of making a profound impact in the growth of banking industry and stand out as the most preferred, unique and contemporary financial service provider of the country. We look forward to having sequential growth in mind. We are eager to conglomerate all the latest technology-based services in the affairs of the banking.
Bangladesh Post: May we know what will be your strategies or mechanism to design and develop the products of this 5th generation bank that has come into existence when the overall banking industry is facing severe impact of long-term Covid situation?
Tarik Morshed: The impact of COVID-19 situation is a reality for a long-term turmoil for the world economy but surely not a permanent situation. Along with other countries of the world, Bangladesh economy also faced a huge depression due to pandemic of Corona Virus and Banking sector is not out of the sphere. However, taking into account the impact of the pandemic situation the govt of Bangladesh declared different protocols to keep banking system on the track so that the whole economic growth might not be hampered. To confront the COVID-19 situation Bengal Commercial Bank has designed its services mainly depending on technology so that its client could avail banking services from their home. To overcome the losses incurred due to pandemic situation the Bank has already introduced new products like
Bengal Sonirhbor (Micro Credit), Prottoyee SME Loan, Commercial Housing Loan under CSME to diversify the credit portfolio for creating new entrepreneurs in Retail sector. The bank also emphasized the need for creating woman entrepreneurs by offering different deposit and investment schemes.
Bangladesh Post: How would you evaluate the banking practices in Bangladesh in comparison to the most modernized banking services with latest version of automated functions in international banking?
Tarik Morshed: In comparison with the modern technology-based banking system of the world Bangladesh’s Banking system is also advancing at a rapid speed to cope up with the situation. Now-a-days private commercial banks of Bangladesh are using digital platform to open and make transactions in their account from their home. The Bank is also going to launch Apps based Digital Onboarding platform which will facilitate the Customers to open and maintain accounts from anywhere without coming to the bank premises physically. Not only that keeping pace with the modern banking system people are purchasing various products without carrying any physical currency rather using Debit/Credit cards of different banks. Moreover, purchasing from different national and International E-Commerce sites are also executed by using Credit/Debit Cards of different Banks.
Bangladesh Post: Please tell us about the asset base, capital base, manpower structure and branch network with that you have started the journey?
Tarik Morshed: With capitalizing the immaterial asset of faith on ourselves Bengal Commercial Bank Ltd started its journey with a paid-up capital of Tk 425 crore and promised to raise it upto Tk 500 crore which is exemplary in the history of Banking industry of Bangladesh. The Management of the Bank emphasized its highest priority and prudence at the time of hiring its manpower wherein merit has been scaled as the unit of justification of quality. With the help of expertise firm Fame and Faith, a talented and skilled human resource has been deployed as the main pillar for achieving the ultimate goal of the Bank. A structured human resources has been hired by the Managing Director & CEO along with individuals bagged with different professional degrees such as engr from BUET, FCA, FCS etc.
The blueprint for the Branch network of the bank has been designed with a greater view to reach the door steps of the unbanked people across the country. The management of the Bank is determined to establish a wide range of network by establishing at least one branch in every district of Bangladesh. In this view, the bank planned to open at least 10 (ten) branches as per guidelines of Central Bank every year.
Bangladesh Post: Would you briefly focus on the policymakers or top board management of your bank? Please mention how this thing influences in faster forward march of a bank?
Tarik Morshed: All the policymakers/ members of the Board of Directors of the Bank are very much renowned and successful businessmen in their respective fields and most of them are declared as CIPs several times by the government of Bangladesh. The common goal for establishment of this bank was to extend financial support to create successful entrepreneur in different sectors so that they might add fuel to the economic growth for becoming a developed country by 2041. The Board of Directors emphasized on allocating on different SME & CSME investment and has already offered different befitting schemes and unconditional loans to woman entrepreneurs to faster forward the economic growth as a whole.
Bangladesh Post: As an expert with long time experience in commercial banking, would you please tell us what strategies, the banks should adopt to mitigate the harms caused by the Covid-19?
Tarik Morshed: Due to pandemic situation of COVID-19 business community faced a huge loss specially entrepreneurs of Small and Medium Enterprises. The main challenge for the banks during the Covid-19 situation is to finance the entrepreneurs who are suffering from lack of capital and financial assistance. The management of BGCB realize that if the bank may stand by the entrepreneurs, especiallythe small and medium enterprises than they may achieve the highest outcome reversing the pandemic loss situation. The bank also targeted the talented and actual small and medium entrepreneurs who are keen to flourish their business but failing due to duly financed.
Bangladesh Post: We know that the banking sector is bearing a huge burden of Non-Performing Loan (NPL) which is becoming heavier day by day; would you mention the possible solution to get rid of this vice?
Tarik Morshed: Non-Performing Loan (NPL) burden is increasing day by day which stands almost 8.1% of the total investment in the Banking sector. The main cause appears behind increasing of NPL in Banking sector is that the commercial banks are in a competition of increasing the investment so that they might show a huge portfolio of profit every year. As such proper documentations and justifications of investment are not being executed by the banks all the time. As a result, recovery of the investment is becoming more and more difficult which ultimately increasing NPL scenario of the banks. If the NPL exceeds the norm, it creates significant problem in the shareholder’s equity, reduces the dividend paying ability of the Bank.
However, to overcome the NPL scenario of overall banking industry, there is no alternative to giving priority on qualitative investment rather than quantity. Moreover, as to control NPL ratio investment in the SME & CSME sector may be given emphasis as recovery ratio in this
sector is almost 100%. Moreover, this shall open the door for the small and medium entrepreneurs to contribute to the whole economy. To face the impact of NPL, the banks are also to come forward investing in Micro Finance sectors as well as to the real woman entrepreneurs. As a new bank with zero NPL, Bengal Commercial Bank is determined to
achieve its ultimate goal of success through investing in SME & CSME sectors, Micro Finance and lending to woman entrepreneurs on easy conditions basis ensuring proper recovery through continuous monitoring and supervision.
Bangladesh Post: How would you assess the role of agent banking in wider expansion of the banking services, or please tell us what next in further flourishing the banking network?
Tarik Morshed: One of the major challenges for the banks to reach its services to the unbanked people who are still out of the banking services. To reach the banking services to the door steps of all sorts of people of the country, establishment of Agent Banking and
Sub-Branches may play a vital role. As we are in a mission to establish banking relations with the unbaked people of the country, Bengal Commercial Bank planned to establish at least 3-4 nos. of Sub-Branches against each Branch. As a new bank, we are well prepared to face the challenges of connecting all the districts of Bangladesh under a unique network of Bengal Bank through establishing at least a branch in each and every districts. We also promise to reach the door steps of people across the country by establishing sub-branches as and where necessary.