NRB Bank takes off

From left, Iqbal Ahmed OBE, chairman of NRB Bank; AMA Muhith, finance minister; Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank; and Muklesur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer of NRB Bank, attend the launch of NRB Bank at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Photo:NRB Bank

NRB Bank Ltd yesterday set off on its journey to bring more investment to Bangladesh.
The bank that brings together non-resident Bangladeshi investors from the UK, US, UAE, Australia and Italy started its operations with a Tk 400 crore paid-up capital.
“The bank will accelerate the country's economic growth,” Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said at the launch.
New banks have become necessary for the country to accommodate the tremendous economic growth over the past decade, he said.
“Exports and imports have gone up and remittance flow and foreign currency reserves have reached new milestones. It's the call of the hour,” the governor said.
He said the new bank will have to work to take banking services to the unbanked people in the rural areas, to the small and medium enterprises and the agriculture sector.
“As with all banks, BB's supervision will remain quite demanding on the new ones in respect of quality of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance.”
Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated the bank at a ceremony held at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.
The private sector-led Bangladesh economy is growing rapidly, the BB governor said.
Sustaining and further accelerating this growth pace require competitive financial services for businesses and industries, linking them efficiently with global financial markets for trade settlements and for accessing investment funds, he added.