BRAC Bank PLC

BRAC Bank PLC.
Company typePublic limited company
DSE: BRACBANK
CSE: BRACBANK
IndustryFinancial services
Banking
Founded4 July 2001; 22 years ago (2001-07-04)
FounderFazle Hasan Abed
HeadquartersAnik Tower, 220/B Tejgaon Gulshan Link Road, Tejgaon, Dhaka-1208
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Number of locations
187 branches
Key people
RevenueIncrease ৳28.727 billion (US$270 million) (2020)
Increase ৳6.81 billion (US$63 million) (2021)
Increase ৳5.46 billion (US$51 million) (2021)
Total assetsIncrease ৳527.91 billion (US$4.9 billion) (2021)
Total equityIncrease ৳76.95 billion (US$720 million) (2021)
Number of employees
7740 (2020)
ParentBRAC, IFC
SubsidiariesbKash Ltd.
BRAC Saajan Exchange Ltd.
BRAC EPL Investments Ltd.
BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd.
Websitebracbank.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

BRAC Bank PLC[2] is a private commercial bank in Bangladesh, founded in 2001. The bank is a subsidiary of BRAC, a leading development organization in the country. BRAC Bank is known for its focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).[3]

The bank has a network of over 187 branches, 457 SME unit offices, and over 329 ATMs, 10 CDMs, 68 RCDMs across the country. In addition to traditional banking services such as deposits, loans, and card, BRAC Bank also offers digital banking, including online banking, mobile banking, and e-wallet services.[4]

History

BRAC Bank was founded on 4 July 2001 to reach the large number of unbanked people which were not covered by traditional bank.[5] The main concept of the bank was to facilitate Small and Medium Enterprises.[5] BRAC Bank was found by Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC and BRAC University.[6][7]

In 2005, BRAC Bank established BRAC Afghanistan Bank in 2006 as a greenfield venture.[8][9][10]

In February 2008, the CEO and managing director of BRAC Bank, Imran Rahman, died in Canada.[11] In May 2008, the bank decided to purchase a majority stake in GSP Finance Company (Bangladesh) Limited.[12] Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali was appointed chairman of BRAC Bank Limited.[13] Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali was a deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank and had joined BRAC in 2007.[13]

In August 2009, BRAC Bank purchased 51 per cent of Equity Partners Limited and Equity Partners Securities Limited.[14] They are later renamed to BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited and BRAC EPL Investments Limited.[15] BRAC Saajan Exchange Limited was established in 2011 through the purchase of Saajan Worldwide Money Transfer Limited, established in 2009, in Great Britain.[16] BRAC Bank sponsored Wasfia Nazreen seven summit expedition.[17]

In September 2014, a robbery took place at the Joypurhat District branch of BRAC Bank Limited.[18] Rapid Action Battalion arrested the suspects and recovered some of the stolen money in September.[18]

Ahsan H Mansur was appointed chairman of BRAC Bank on 27 August 2019 replacing Sir Fazle Hasan Abed after he retired.[19] Its half yearly profit saw a 50 per cent decline.[20]

BRAC Bank filled an appeal on 19 October 2020 with the Appellate Division seeking a stay order on a verdict of Bangladesh High Court which ordered the bank to pay 1.5 million BDT to Jaha Alam, who had served three years wrongly in case filed by BRAC.[21]

BRAC Bank received US$30 million in April from International Finance Corporation.[22] In August 2021, BRAC Bank planned to raise six billion BDT through issuing bonds.[23]

In September 2022, Bangladesh Bank ordered BRAC Bank to spend 50 per cent of their profits from Foreign Exchange trading, deemed unethical by Bangladesh Bank, on corporate social responsibility programs.[24] On 28 September, it opened its 800th agent banking branch.[25] It had approved 15 per cent dividends for stock holders.[26] It increased the salary of junior grade officers by 50 per cent.[27] It had a total asset of 611 billion BDT as of 2022.[28] It launched a digital loan app called Shubidha.[29]

On 11 January 2023, BRAC Bank burrowed US$50 million from the German Investment Corporation.[30] It donated 40 million BDT to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Ashrayan-2 project.[31] BRAC Bank opened its 1000th agent banking outlet in February 2023.[32]

Financial services

  • SME Banking
  • Retails Banking
  • Card Service (Credit & Debit)
  • Foreign Exchange & Related Services
  • Wholesale Banking & Custodial Service
  • Probashi Banking

Distribution network

  • Business Region: 7
  • Total Branches (Including SME SC/KB): 193
  • Zonal Offices: 185
  • Premium Lounges: 18
  • ATMs: 375
  • CDMs: 96
  • SME Unit Office: 457
  • Agent Banking Outlet: 481
  • Remittance Delivery Point : 1800[33]

Subsidiaries

The subsidiaries are[34]

  • BRAC EPL Investments Limited[14]
  • BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited[14]
  • bKash (Mobile banking service) Limited
  • BRAC Saajan Exchange Limited[16]
  • BRAC IT Services Limited
  • Astha[35]

ATM network

BRAC Bank has its own ATM network which is currently 457. In addition to this BRAC Bank is the lead arranger of OMNIBUS shared ATM network.

OMNIBUS, an association of member institutions, which will provide shared ATM and POS network facilities to banks through a neutral mother switch. OMNIBUS was formed as a result of a need for a neutral and centralized gateway. And as a result BRAC Bank took the initiative. And with BRAC Bank, Q-Cash came forward with its members to join hands to form OMNIBUS.[36]

Cricket sponsorship

The bank is the official kit sponsor for the Bangladesh national cricket team, Under-19 cricket team, Bangladesh women cricket team for the period of 2018 to 2020, meanwhile, the organisation is the kit partner for the team since 2016 and renewed their term until January 2020[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Annual Report 2020" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Brac Bank" (PDF). bracbank.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  3. ^ "BRAC Bank, SME Foundation organises capacity-building programme for 100 women entrepreneurs in Rangamati". The Business Standard. 22 March 2023. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  4. ^ "BRAC Bank's bKash Launches Mobile Banking Services in Bangladesh". brac.net. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Brac Bank". www.bracbank.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. ^ "BRAC Bank Limited". Banglapedia. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Brac University: Inspiring Excellence". The Daily Star. 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Disclosure". disclosures.ifc.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  9. ^ "CEO of Afghan BRAC Bank gets award". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  10. ^ "BRAC Bank (Afghanistan) selects Phoenix and ACCeSS for their ATM and Debit Card program". TPS. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Brac Bank MD Imran passes away". The Daily Star. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ^ Rahman, Sajjadur (9 May 2008). "BRAC Bank to buy majority stakes in GSP Finance". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  13. ^ a b "New Chairman of BRAC Bank". The Daily Star. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "BRAC Bank buys stake in Equity Partners". The Daily Star. 1 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Brac Bank signs MoU with Brac EPL Stock Brokerage, Brac EPL Investments". The Business Standard. 11 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b "BRAC Saajan Exchange Ltd". BRAC Saajan. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Four down for Wasfia". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  18. ^ a b "'Mastermind' among 7 held in Brac Bank heist". The Daily Star. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Ahsan Mansur new Brac Bank chairperson". The Daily Star. 27 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Brac Bank's half-yearly profit down 12pc". The Daily Star. 31 July 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Compensating Jaha Alam: Brac Bank appeals to SC for stay on order". The Daily Star. 19 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Brac Bank to get $30m IFC loan". The Daily Star. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Brac Bank to raise Tk 600cr thru bonds". The Daily Star. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  24. ^ Uddin, AKM Zamir (23 September 2022). "Forex market: Six banks apologise for making excessive profits". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Brac Bank opens 800th agent banking outlet". The Daily Star. 28 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Brac Bank approves 15pc dividend". The Daily Star. 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  27. ^ "BRAC Bank raises junior-grade salaries up to 50%". The Daily Star. 15 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  28. ^ "Moody's places 7 Bangladeshi banks' ratings under review for downgrade; downgrades Social Islami Bank's ratings to B3 from B2". Moodys.com. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  29. ^ "Brac Bank launches digital loan app 'Shubidha'". The Business Standard. 15 November 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  30. ^ "Brac Bank to borrow $50m loan from German finance institution". The Daily Star. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  31. ^ "BRAC Bank donates Tk4 crore to PM's Ashrayan-2 project". The Business Standard. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  32. ^ "BRAC Bank opens 1,000th agent banking outlet". The Business Standard. 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  33. ^ Weber, Olaf (2011). "Products and Services". In Weber, Olaf; Remer, Sven (eds.). Social Banks and the Future of Sustainable Finance. Routledge. Box 5.7. ISBN 978-1-136-80444-1.
  34. ^ "BRAC Bank Limited :: Knowing BRAC Bank » Company Profile » Corporate Vision, Mission & Values". www.bracbank.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Brac Bank increases Astha fund transfer limits". The Daily Star. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  36. ^ "Welcome to OMNIBUS". Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  37. ^ "BRAC Bank becomes the Kit Partner of National Cricket Team for 2 more years Tigers continue to sport the BRAC Bank logo", BRAC Bank, 11 September 2018, archived from the original on 16 September 2018, retrieved 16 September 2018
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