ComBank to tie-up with Bangladesh banks for retail banking

Hathoon Sheriffdeen

Commercial bank is targeting the incoming remittances to the country through their e-banking system. The e-banking customers vary from time to time and its very seasonal for us. MD Commercial Bank, Amita Goonaratne, said.

Commercial Bank will be tying up with banks with ATM facilities in Bangladesh to enter into the retail banking business in future. We are looking for the portfolio of the banking industry in Bangladesh, Chief Financial Officer, Commercial Bank Nandika Buddhipala said yesterday at the launch of the bank's annual report 2007.

"Our entry into the Bangladesh banking industry is to attract corporate customers of the country. Presently our customer base is 5,000 corporate members and we have nine branches so far, he said.

Commercial Bank also had entered into some contracts with several Middle-Eastern and European agents to collect the transfer of funds earned by locals working in those countries. Those agents on behalf of the Commercial Bank collect the remittances effectively and this led our fund transfer services much faster than earlier, Buddhipala said.

He said Commercial Bank's key investment of the year is on IT. This investment varies on the basis of the new banking projects and the ATM projects. The off-shore banking portfolio of the bank is now very active, but banks don't have much benefit on that, because the interest rates do not vary from the inter banking transaction rates, he said.