NDB Bank goes to Bangladesh

Ravi Ladduwahetty

NDB Bank will shortly go into Bangladesh for investment banking which will be a joint venture with a local bank there.

“We have applied to both the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Central bank of Bangladesh and we will take off soon as the approval is given from both sides, NDB Bank CEO Eran Wickremaratne told Daily News Business yesterday.

He explained that the reason for the tie-up was due to the Bangladesh partner knowing the market well and was also upbeat about the prospects in a market with a 140 million population. He also stressed that NDB Bank will have the controlling stake of the joint venture company which will be set up in Bangladesh.

“We are upbeat with the prospects and we will be starting Fee Based activities such as advisory services, financial restructuring mergers and acquisitions with small capital for starters. We will be expanding as we go along,” he said.

He was tight lipped about the investment figures as the application was pending approval from both Central Banks. However, he conceded that the investment figures and their magnitude were not particularly significant due to the nature of the operation.

He said the two Sri Lankan banks which are operating in the Bangladesh market - Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank was no threat to the NDB Bank survival as Commercial Bank was running a branch operation there while for Sampath Bank, it was a credit card operation.

“There is no conflict of interest there for us as the lines of business are really different from each other and the market is so many folds the market in Sri Lanka, he said. The core banking revenue (net interest income, forex and commissions, etc ) of NDB Bank grew at a steady pace by 15% over the corresponding period last year, as a result of the significant growth in loans and advances by 20% and deposits by 23% over the comparative period.

The profit before tax and the profit after tax of the Bank excluding the exceptional equity capital gains earned by the Bank during the corresponding period last year increased by 18% and 23% respectively over the comparative period.

The group profit after tax and the profit attributable to the shareholders also increased by 7% and 9% respectively over the corresponding period last year excluding the said equity capital gains earned by the Bank during the corresponding period last year.