How DBBL is bridging finance, inclusion, and sustainability
Once considered a niche, sustainable finance is now central to DBBL’s growth strategy—reshaping its loan portfolio, empowering entrepreneurs, and reaching communities nationwide
The sustainability of any bank rests on its core fundamentals, and Bangladesh Bank has rightly placed strong emphasis on these parameters. For me, that means maintaining capital adequacy, ensuring proper provision, keeping a healthy risk-weighted asset ratio, managing non-performing loans, protecting asset quality, and safeguarding liquidity.
At Dutch-Bangla Bank, we have excelled in these areas from the very beginning. We have never faced a shortfall in provision maintenance or capital adequacy—a clear reflection of the strength of our foundation.
Yet, true sustainability goes beyond financial indicators. Corporate governance, CSR initiatives, and wide service coverage play an equally critical role, and Dutch-Bangla Bank has consistently taken the lead in these areas.
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Just as importantly, sustainability today means being environmentally conscious. We integrate climate considerations into our financing decisions and actively promote green investments. This has been part of our DNA from the start: environmental responsibility was woven into our vision statement, and it continues to guide our strategy. For us, sustainability is not about compliance—it is the foundation of our growth. That's why we are steadily increasing allocations to green and sustainable projects, while diversifying our credit portfolio across sectors and regions. We are planning to redesign our portfolio - 40% corporate, 30% SME, and 30% retail—spreads risk and reinforces long-term stability.
But sustainability must also mean inclusion. Banking should not be limited to the privileged few. That is why financial inclusion lies at the heart of our strategy. Today, our network covers 243 branches, 307 sub-branches, 8,566 ATMs and CRMs, and 5,620 agent banking outlets nationwide. Over 80% of our Agent Outlets are located in rural areas. Apart from this we have over 3.85 crore rocket accounts of which over 31.45% is located in rural areas and 43.29% belongs to female. Dutch-Bangla Bank now serves more than 5.77 crore accounts, with nearly 40% belonging to women. Under these service coverage poor, ultra poor and even illiterate people living in the remote areas get modern, tech-based banking facilities. Our expansion of financial inclusion programs, ensures access to affordable finance for underserved communities as our banking network exists all over the country. We have expanded our Banking network with an aim to include people of all segments of the society including marginal people.
Our CSR contribution also plays an important role in sustainability standing, we have contributed Tk1200 crore in CSR most of which were channeled to education, health, disaster management, climate risk mitigation and infrastructure development of institutions. Apart from this we also regularly patronize the organization of Math and Informatics Olympiad. Our scholarship program is a pioneer in the banking industry, 90% of the scholarship is distributed to poor but meritorious students of rural areas and 50% to female students.
To promote sustainability in financing decisions we made Environmental Risk Rating mandatory for all commercial lending. Environmental guidelines are mandatory and integral part of our credit policy and approval process. We also arrange regular in-house and on job training for the employee and other stakeholders specially CMSME clients for creating awareness about environmental norms and practices. At the time of site selection for new branches we put emphasise on availability of natural light among others. Moreover, we have taken initiative to use energy efficient light and appliances in all our premises. To ensure less use of papers in our operational activities we have introduced Document Management System for automated loan approval, e-KYC for account opening and app based banking. We have also introduced bio-metric solutions for marginalized people as a part of our inclusive Banking.
Looking ahead, I am optimistic about the future of sustainable finance in Bangladesh. Globally, ESG practices are reshaping financial systems, and Bangladesh has kept pace. Bangladesh Bank has introduced forward-looking guidelines aligned with international standards, making sustainability central to lending decisions. Already, the impact is clear: disbursement under sustainable finance grew from just 8.04% in 2021 to 39.66% in 2024, while green finance rose from 3.06% to 13.29% of total term loans over the same period. At Dutch-Bangla Bank, we are witnessing this shift first-hand as more clients—both large corporations and small businesses—adopt energy-efficient technologies and machinery. These developments reinforce my belief that the future of sustainable finance in Bangladesh is bright.
To align with this shift, we have taken deliberate steps. We established a dedicated Sustainable Finance Unit in line with central bank directives, and our performance has consistently exceeded targets. In just the first half of 2025, more than 80% of our total disbursement qualified as sustainable finance. We have also made reporting and disclosure a core part of our annual reports, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Our product portfolio reflects this commitment. We offer specialised credit facilities for CMSMEs and women entrepreneurs under Bangladesh Bank's guidelines—for example, extend loans to women entrepreneurs at only 5% interest through the "Shofolota" and "Utshaho" under refinance schemes of Bangladesh Bank. We also support SMEs under multiple refinance and pre-finance programmes. One of our proudest initiatives is "Janala," a housing finance product that provides affordable housing for industrial workers, addressing both environmental and social sustainability. Agriculture is another cornerstone: for five consecutive years, we have met central bank targets for agricultural lending, and all such loans qualify as sustainable finance. Beyond that, our MFI-linked loans are helping expand agricultural development while empowering women in rural areas.
Of course, the journey is not without challenges. Awareness remains a major hurdle. Many borrowers and stakeholders are still unfamiliar with the benefits of energy-efficient technologies or the long-term value of green practices. While we provide targeted loans for CMSMEs and women entrepreneurs at lower interest rates, broader adoption requires more awareness and capacity-building. Here, regulatory and policy support are crucial. Bangladesh Bank has already shown leadership through its Sustainable Finance Department, and further steps—such as expanding refinance funds, reducing tariffs on energy-efficient machinery, and offering tax incentives for green entrepreneurs—could accelerate progress.
For us at Dutch-Bangla Bank, being recognised as one of Bangladesh's top sustainable banks is more than an honour—it is a responsibility. Every lending decision we make goes beyond financial return. It is about contributing to a greener, more inclusive, and more resilient future for the nation.
