I look at my watch, 2:59 pm. I jump out of the car and run to grab the handle to the front door. I ignore an old man in an oversized security uniform, barely able to hold onto his WW II sanctioned weapon, shaking his head to indicate that I am too late. He is right -- I find the doors to be electronically locked.

The old man declines to be of any assistance when I plead as he remains safely planted in his seat. I can see through the massive glass doors and marble columns, sharply-dressed bank employees buzzing with activities in their centrally air-conditioned office, as I search for an automated teller machine (ATM). As luck would have it, the only ATM at the branch is out of order.

I return the keys to my driver, and sit in the backseat to take comfort of an AC. I start cursing at everyone at the bank as soon as all the windows are fully rolled up, and the AC switched on. I vow to find an alternative and avoid the inconvenience of doing business with my existing bank. I regret even attempting to go to the bank as the car returns to the week-end traffic jam.

To make the most of this useless trip, I plan a little research to find an alternative, and decide to occupy myself by counting ATMs and branches of banks from Dhanmondi to my destination in Gulshan.

Enroute, I pass many lavish and massive branches of different banks (local and foreign) occupying expensive real estate with luxury cars (mostly belonging to the bank management) parked in front of them. Most of these branches are equipped with one ATM machine, and the queue in front of it at 3.30 pm, Thursday, could easily be mistaken for a bus queue at rush hour.

I also notice quite a few stand-alone (non-branch) ATM booths at convenient locations. I cannot confirm the number of ATMs or branches I pass as I may have missed a few due to my limited vision to one side at a time, but nonetheless, I come upon something very interesting.

Almost 7 out of 10 stand-alone ATMs belong to a joint-venture bank. What is more interesting, some of its booths are located within the branch of another bank. The operator of these ATMs or mini-banks, as these machines are equipped to handle most banking transactions, is Dutch Bangla Bank Limited or DBBL (a Bangladesh and Netherlands joint venture financial institution).

The future of retail banking is centred around the convenience of the customer which is achieved and delivered by the use of Information Technology (IT) through convenient ATM locations, internet or on-line banking, tele-banking, credit/debit cards, 24 hour customer service via on-site and/or remote call-centers, etc.

It is a great convenience to the customer and a major cost-saver for the bank since deployment of service through IT eliminates the need for operating a branch office. Given the current real-estate scenario of Bangladesh, particularly Dhaka, the cost of establishing a branch can easily reach nine digits whilst operating cost can run over seven digits a month. I can understand why some banks spend even more on branches and perks, but that's another story.

I have come across DBBL in the articles of local newspapers many times, but unlike other financial institutions, they mostly made the headlines for services rendered to the society. They have been active in medical, educational, and environmental charity as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As recognition, DBBL was awarded the Daily Star/DHL award for CSR in 2006.

It is encouraging to see that a financial institution, stigmatized to be greedy profit-oriented organizations, has taken CSR to new heights without compromising its main goal: creation of shareholder value.

DBBL enjoys the highest market premium over face value than any other third-generation banks by a large margin (Chart 1). It has attracted the attention of some serious players in recent days as evident by the agreement with Citibank NA for retail banking, and with Standard Chartered Bank for ATM-related services.

I would not be surprised to see more such agreements in the future and even a buy-out at a very high premium to the market considering the limited float of DBBL in the stock exchanges. If I were a shareholder of DBBL, I would be very happy with the management as they put the emphasis on creating value rather than paying dividends, a policy that is largely responsible for the more than 2000% gain (as of 20/05/2007) over face-value since listing .

Most importantly, I would feel a lot better knowing a part of the return on my investment is going for the betterment of our society, not for the LCD TV and leather sofa for the manager's room. I would be a proud shareholder of DBBL.

Asif Anwar a Financial Markets professional.
Chart courtesy of IDLC Securities.