Strong financial performance of Dutch-Bangla Bank will encourage OBU depositors
Dutch-Bangla Bank’s managing director describes their offshore products and benefits in depth to explain why customers should choose the bank over others
Bangladeshi expatriates or foreigners can get a maximum interest rate of 3%-4% if they keep a foreign currency deposit in a bank where they live. If they keep the same deposit in a Bangladeshi bank, they have the opportunity to earn a maximum interest rate of up to 8.4%.
Customers can deposit any amount of foreign currency in banks in Bangladesh. At the same time, they can withdraw their deposits with interest at any time.
An additional benefit for customers, along with the higher interest rates, is that there are no taxes on the interest earned.
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For those who already have deposits in Dutch-Bangla Bank, you might wonder why you should continue to keep your deposit with us. I would say Dutch-Bangla Bank has many strengths. First is our product. Any customer can open an account with us with a minimum of $1,000, ₤1,000, or JP¥1,000. However, there is no limit on the maximum deposit amount; any amount can be kept.
If our customers maintain a deposit of $100,000 or more (or 100,000 in other currencies), we will provide them with an international card or priority pass. With an international debit card, they can withdraw money from anywhere in the world. Additionally, you can shop using any POS (Point of Sale) terminal.
Moreover, our customers who deposit $100,000 or more can have a full body checkup once a year at United/Square/Evercare Hospital using our bank card. We have specially designed this benefit for these [offshore banking] customers.
Our bank has recorded the highest net profit of Tk801 crore in the past year. Customers continue to deposit with us because they trust us, which enables us to provide favourable loans. As a result, we have made a substantial profit from these loans.
In the past year, Dutch-Bangla Bank distributed a 35% dividend, a rate unmatched by any other bank in the country. Our capital adequacy ratio is among the top three banks, currently at 16.16%, while the required rate for banks is 12.5%.
Dutch-Bangla Bank's non-performing loan rate is 4.1%, compared to the national average of around 10%. The bank has consistently met the SLR/CRR requirements, never facing a shortage. The bank has always maintained sufficient provisions.
Even during the country's significant dollar crunch, we never delayed LC payments by even an hour. All LC payments have been regularised. These are some of the strong points of our bank. Our liquidity is robust; there has never been a liquidity crisis. Customers can withdraw money from our ATMs 24 hours a day, even on holidays.
Dutch-Bangla Bank pays the highest taxes among banks in Bangladesh. The bank has 7,000 ATMs which is more than half of the ATM population in Bangladesh. The bank also has about 1.5 crore debit cards, which is the largest number of debit cards held by any bank in Bangladesh.
Additionally, we have 350,000 credit cards and 100,000 prepaid cards, reflecting the trust people have in us.
We are making UPAS LC payments through offshore banking or bill discounting. For various short-term investments, we have to collect dollars from various foreign banks at high rates. If we can create funds ourselves, we will not have to depend on foreign banks. This will indirectly help to increase the country's reserves.
Customers often worry about not getting their taka back after depositing in many banks, and they may wonder how they will get their dollars back. In this case, I would advise customers to be careful in choosing a bank. By assessing a bank's strength, customers can avoid making mistakes.
While we are targeting Bangladeshi expatriates for these deposits, we are also reaching out to customers from other countries. These countries have different types of funds, and they can earn good interest by keeping their funds as safe deposits in our bank.
