Bank-Insurance
Mercantile Bank Launches Global Debit Card on 24th Anniversary
Mercantile Bank Limited commemorated its 24th anniversary with a press conference held at its Head Office in Dhaka on June 4, 2023. The event saw the Bank’s Chairman, Morshed Alam M.P., as the chief guest, unveiling the Global Debit card service for customers.
During his speech, the MBL Chairman highlighted the Bank’s notable achievements in recent years and emphasized its future plans. He acknowledged the collective effort of the Board of Directors, Management, and employees in solidifying Mercantile Bank’s pioneering position, despite the challenges posed by the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.
The Chairman expressed the Bank’s commitment to fortifying its capabilities and leveraging technology to establish an Enriched Banking Ecosystem, ensuring SMART BANKING and contributing to a SMART BANGLADESH. Additionally, MBL aims to focus on developing technology-based products and services to provide uninterrupted customer support.
The occasion was attended by Vice Chairmen A. S. M. Feroz Alam and Md. Abdul Hannan, Chairman of the Risk Management Committee M. Amanullah, Chairman of Mercantile Bank Securities Ltd. M. A. Khan Belal, Directors Al-Haj Akram Hossain (Humayun), Alhaj Mosharref Hossain, Mohammad Abdul Awal, and Honourable Shareholder Jalal Hossain Khan Mia.
Md. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of the bank, delivered a welcome speech summarizing the accomplishments and challenges of the previous year. He informed journalists that the bank’s top priority for the fiscal year is the recovery of classified loans. The bank will prioritize extending new loans to women entrepreneurs, the agriculture sector, and SMEs. Furthermore, Mercantile Bank plans to establish new Agent Banking outlets and Upashkhas nationwide to ensure banking services reach the unbanked population. The CEO also emphasized that digital banking services will become more convenient and innovative, offering smart solutions in the near future.
Mercantile Bank account holders can utilize the funds in their current and savings accounts for shopping, cash withdrawals, and online payments in any currency, both domestically and internationally. The Global Debit cards are widely accepted at Visa ATMs and POS terminals worldwide. They also support NFC (Near Field Communications) technology, enabling contactless transactions of up to Tk. 5000 or equivalent. Additionally, online transactions and e-commerce payments are secured through 2FA (2 Factor Authentication). Foreign currency transactions using the Global Debit Card require endorsement on the cardholder’s passport, adhering to regular Travel Quota regulations.
The Bank’s Chairman, Managing Director, AMD Mati Ul Hasan, and CFO Tapash Chandra Paul, PhD, addressed queries from journalists representing print, electronic, and online media outlets in attendance at the press conference.
The Bangladesh Bank has adjusted the dollar price to Tk117 from Tk110 by introducing the crawling peg exchange rate mechanism.
Under this new approach, the bank will buy and sell dollars with Tk117 as the mid rate.
This decision was reached during a meeting of the monetary policy committee on Wednesday, May 8th.
Additionally, the committee has opted to discontinue the SMART lending rate mechanism, allowing banks to set their lending rates based on dollar demand and supply, according to a circular issued after the meeting.
The crawling peg system permits a currency with a fixed exchange rate to fluctuate within a specified band of rates, combining features of both fixed and floating exchange rate regimes.
On May 5th, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder announced the adoption of a market-based interest rate and the implementation of a crawling peg system to stabilize the foreign exchange rate.
He stated that the central bank is collaborating with prominent economists and bankers to devise a contractionary monetary policy aimed at curbing inflation and restoring macroeconomic stability.
Earlier, on April 2nd, the World Bank stressed the importance of a crawling peg mechanism aligned with market-clearing exchange rates to narrow the gap between formal and informal exchange rates, as outlined in the latest Bangladesh Development Update report.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advocated for a market-based dollar rate. In January 2023, the IMF attached several conditions to a $4.7 billion loan facility over a three-and-a-half-year period. Bangladesh has received two installments of the loan by fulfilling nearly all conditions, except for the reserve requirement.
On Sunday (May 5), the Bangladesh Bank (BB) once again dissolved the board of directors of the National Bank.
In a letter addressed to the managing director of the National Bank, the central bank announced the cancellation of the existing board of directors.
Furthermore, the banking regulator established a new board of directors and appointed Khalilur Rahman, the bank’s sponsor director, as the new chairman, according to the BB’s communication.
Mezbaul Haque, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank, commented on the development, stating that the action was taken to bolster the bank’s board of directors.
This move comes after a similar action in 2023 when the central bank ordered the dissolution of the National Bank’s board and formed a new one.
Prime Bank PLC has recently received Bancassurance Business commencement approval from Bangladesh Bank.
Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank handed over the approval letter to Nazeem A Choudhury, deputy managing director – consumer banking of Prime Bank PLC, at a ceremony held at Bangladesh Bank recently.
Mohammad Ashfaqur Rahman, additional director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank, Ashraful Alam, joint director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank, Miah Mohammad Rabiul Hasan, chief bancassurance officer, Prime Bank PLC were also present at the ceremony.
Bancassurance is a partnership between a bank and insurance company that will allow a Bank to sell insurance products of the insurance company through its distribution channels.
To offer a wide range of products to its customers and ensure best in class service, Prime Bank has partnered with leading insurance companies National Life Insurance Company Ltd. and Reliance Insurance Ltd.
Being one of the leading banks of the country, Prime Bank hopes to cater to the needs of insurance requirements of its customers through Bancassurance, in Bangladesh market.
