Bank Asia aims to give half of its loans to SME, retail

Bank Asia PLC plans to increase its lending to retail and small and medium enterprises (SME) to about 50 percent of its total loan portfolio, according to its Managing Director Sohail RK Hussain.
“We have extensive experience in the SME sector and are now placing stronger focus on it,” he said while addressing a press conference at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka to mark the bank’s 25th anniversary yesterday.
“We believe that both the retail and SME sectors will experience rapid growth in the near future,” Hussain added.
“Bank Asia aspires to take its services to the doorsteps of marginalised people and thereby expand financial inclusion while prioritising the retail and SME sectors.”
Reflecting on the bank’s journey and sharing future plans, Hussain said Bank Asia has continuously opened new doors and opportunities in the banking sector for the past 25 years.
Simplifying agriculture and SME loans, expediting government social safety allowance disbursements, pioneering the Income Sharing Ratio (ISR) model in Islamic banking, launching the Pioneer payment gateway, and introducing agent banking and micro-merchant services are many of the accomplishments that the bank has had by consistently embraced innovation.
Additionally, by implementing voice banking, Bank Asia has ensured it stays aligned with the evolving needs of its customers, setting new benchmarks in banking services, he said.
Bank Asia launched the country’s first agent banking service in 2014, making financial services more accessible in remote areas and underserved communities.
Established on November 27, 1999, Bank Asia quickly became one of the prominent commercial banks in the country, earning it a reputation for operational excellence and customer-centric services.
Starting with corporate banking, the bank now boasts 135 branches, 15 sub-branches, 5 Islamic windows and more than 5,000 agent outlets. It also supports more than 50,000 micro-merchants, ensuring seamless banking services across the country.
The lender expanded into the stock market through a concern called Bank Asia Securities, which operates 12 branches. Besides, the bank has two money exchange houses in London and the US.
Bank Asia’s outstanding loans for sustainable finance initiatives stood at Tk 10,445 crore as of September 30, accounting for around 36 percent of its total advances. Its total green finance amounts to about Tk 1,489 crore.
“We have established a robust agent banking network spanning 64 districts, with more than 5,000 agent outlets and 28,000 micro-merchants,” Hussain said.
The bank has a total of 70 lakh customers, including beneficiaries of 32 government social safety net programmes.
Hussain said agent banking now facilitates more than 1 lakh transactions worth about Tk 250 crore per day.
“Almost 50 percent of the transactions are done by women. We want to increase the amount of daily transactions to Tk 1,000 crore by the next two-and-a-half years,” he added.
Bank Asia expanded its global footprint by establishing two international operations — BA Exchange UK Ltd and BA Express USA Inc — between 2011 and 2014.
Shafiuzzaman and ANM Mahfuz, additional managing directors of Bank Asia, Mohammad Ziaul Hasan Molla, SM Iqbal Hossain, Alamgir Hossain, SM Anisuzzaman, Arekul Arefin and Mirza Azhar Ahmed, deputy managing directors, were among other officials present.