Best financial institution of the year

Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) has become the people's lender by providing numerous financial services to both tech-savvy youths and underprivileged people.

Through its efforts, DBBL has succeeded in bringing many of the country's unbanked into the formal financial system. It also introduced several firsts in the banking sector.

In 2004, DBBL rolled out its automated teller machine (ATM) service, which was a first of its kind initiative among the local lenders.

Over time, the bank has built Bangladesh's largest ATM network, with around 5,000 units dotting across the country.

The DBBL also set up Fast Track centres, a branchless banking facility featuring several ATMs, in every upazila, giving a much-needed boost to financial inclusion in rural areas.

The lender also became the country's first debit card issuer in 2004. It has since disbursed 80 lakh debit cards, the highest number of cards issued by a single bank.

The DBBL invested about Tk 12 crore in developing an e-commerce platform in 2010 when digital banking systems were mostly absent in the country.

A torchbearer in mobile financial service, the bank introduced Bangladesh's first MFS in 2011.

When it comes to agent banking, DBBL has enjoyed tremendous success since the venture began two and a half years ago. This was around the same time that it rolled out NexusPay -- a mobile application for cardless transactions.

Thanks to its various financial inclusion programmes and digital banking services, there are about three crore active accounts with the bank.

Having begun its journey back in 1996, DBBL invested heavily in the expansion of its extraordinary services and is now seeing returns on those initiatives.

The bank's net profit stood at Tk 434 crore in 2019, up from Tk 420 crore the year before.