Social Islami Bank MD meets Bangladesh ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Zafar Alam, managing director and CEO of Social Islami Bank, had a meeting with Mohammad Javed Patwary, Bangladesh ambassador to Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh recently.

A number of issues, such as enhancing remittance flows through legal channels, were discussed during the meeting, the bank said in a press release.

The discussion also included the bank possibly working together with the embassy to improve the standards of living of Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the bank is eager to open a branch in Saudi Arabia to uphold the interests of expatriates, and to collaborate with Saudi banks for trade-finance facilitation.

Alam was accompanied by Mohammad Habibur Rahman, deputy managing director of the bank, and Towhid Hossain, senior executive vice-president and head of IRMD-1, during the visit.

"We are ready to explore avenues for cooperation and collaboration to benefit the expatriate communities," Alam said.

"The bank always puts special emphasis on remittance senders, as a result the bank has tailored products for them, including special discounts in SIBL Foundation Hospital and transportation facility from Dhaka airport to anywhere inside Dhaka city and so on.

"We have a specialised deposit scheme for expatriates against which they can avail investment facilities to start their own business," he added.