Mercantile Bank puts customers, operational efficiency at heart

Raising the standard of customer service and operational efficiency, beefing up risk management and continuing digital transformation will be at the heart of the strategies of Mercantile Bank Ltd as it looks to power its growth in the coming years, said its top executive.

"Ensuring smart banking through bringing in technological excellence will be our priority," said Md Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, managing director and chief executive officer of Mercantile Bank, in an interview with The Daily Star recently. 

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"Besides, we will continue our endeavours to strengthen our position in the banking sector by elevating the skills of the workforce and striking a balance between risks and profits."

He said the bank would cut its reliance on corporate deposits and redirect its focus to retail deposits as well as broaden the capital base and bring down the non-performing loans.

The comments from the top official come as Mercantile Bank is set to celebrate its 24th founding anniversary next week. 

According to Chowdhury, a group of visionary entrepreneurs set out in 1999 to contribute to the economy of Bangladesh in a sustainable way. Mercantile Bank, which was set up on June 2 of the same year, was the result of that particular vision.

Since its inception, the bank has created a credible brand impression and achieved customers' trust and loyalty.

"Mercantile Bank has been driven by a bold transformation strategy, dynamic leadership and decisive management interventions and all of these have put us in a sound position and paved the way for us to tap opportunities."

The top banker says the core strengths of Mercantile Bank are strong brand value, an experienced board of directors, a pool of efficient human resources, a wide range of branches and ATM network, products and services at competitive prices, a strong financial position to meet liabilities, a high-quality credit rating, and strict ethical and moral practices.

Mercantile Bank is rated by the international rating agency Moody's which reflects the private commercial bank's good profitability, well-matched maturity profile, modest asset quality, and solvency profile.

The bank serves a large customer base comprising individuals and institutions through a network of 152 branches, supplemented by 193 ATM booths, 45 Islamic banking windows, 33 sub-branches, and 187 agent banking outlets.

It is also providing services through three subsidiaries, two offshore banking units, internet banking and mobile banking. It has put in place a network to reach unbanked and under-banked sections of society.

Chowdhury said from the beginning, Mercantile Bank has adopted modern technologies to provide fast-track customer-centric services. As part of the process, it introduced real-time online banking services and set up ATM booths.

The bank's core banking software -- TEMENOS T24 -- is a world-class proven technology platform and it has been upgraded and fine-tuned to achieve efficiency in its operations.

The bank has rolled out the internet banking service "MBL Rainbow" to allow customers to carry out banking services from the convenience of their homes or workplaces.

"This has made banking more customer-friendly and digitalised. It is in line with the country's goal of becoming a cashless society."

Chowdhury is optimistic about the prospects presented by the country's projected economic growth.

He said though the global crisis has made the prospect for 2023 a bit gloomy, the continuation of the accommodative and expansionary monetary policy, coupled with stable inflation, is bound to generate positive sentiments relating to the country's economic revival. 

"Despite the current uncertain environment, we remain hopeful of growing our business. As the crisis gradually recedes, there would be a greater ease of doing business and we will forge ahead riding on that."

In order to achieve its targets for 2023, the private commercial bank plans to continue to strengthen its technology and improve service standards and operational processes in a bid to meet the expectations of customers.

"There is no denying that digital banking has already become a part of our clients' lifestyles," said Chowdhury.

"We also think it is important to collaborate with like-minded partners to deliver practical solutions and high-quality products that are unique in the market."

The CEO says the aim of Mercantile Bank is to serve the people in a unique way and it has kept its promise.

He also touched upon the current financial health of the banking sector. 

The post-pandemic situation and the Russia-Ukraine war have taken their toll on the global economy as well as the economy of Bangladesh.

"Still, Bangladesh's economy is stronger compared to many other countries," Chowdhury said, adding that Bangladesh has taken the initiatives to strengthen the foreign exchange market in order to stabilise the ongoing situation.

Non-performing loans will reduce automatically once the economy overcomes the impacts emanating from the pandemic and the war, he said, suggesting ensuring adequate collaterals against loans, carrying out feasibility studies of projects before sanctioning loans, proper documentation, and strong monitoring.

In 2022, Mercantile Bank inaugurated a Shariah-based branch in the capital's Dilkusha. Its all branches and sub-branches will also provide Islamic banking services to the people.

The private commercial bank received the "National Productivity and Quality Excellence Award 2016" from the National Productivity Organisation under the industries ministry in recognition of its unwavering commitment towards best customer service, CSR activities and good governance.

The bank won the "US Dollar Clearing MT202 Elite Quality Recognition Award" from JP Morgan Chase Bank and the AmCham CSR Excellence Award.

Mercantile Bank has been awarded on a number of occasions by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh for best-presented annual reports.

"This testifies to our commitment to promoting transparency," Chowdhury added.