Bangladesh’s Farmers Bank has formally re-commenced its operations as Padma Bank following approval from the central bank.
A privately-owned lender, the bank nearly collapsed six years ago due to massive financial irregularities and loan scams. However, it averted the crisis with government assistance.
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The re-branding of the bank is aimed to regain customer confidence. Padma Bank also underwent structural and management changes following the scam.
Currently, four state-owned lenders Sonali, Janta, Agrani and Rupali along with government-owned non-banking financial institution ICB own a combined 68% stake in the newly formed Padma Bank.
The new rebranded bank commenced its operations with 57 branches, reported theindependentbd.com.
Padma Bank chairman Nafeez Sarafat was quoted by the publication as saying: “The new schemes that we have taken to gain public confidence have already begun to bear fruit.
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By GlobalData“We are confident that the Padma Bank will be a front-ranking bank in the country within a very short time.”
The bank also introduced its new logo at the re-launch event. Bangladesh economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman and Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir attended the event.
Last month, Bangladesh Bank approved the licences of three new private commercial banks. It issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to award licenses to Bengal Bank, People’s Bank, and Citizen Bank.
With the new licensing, the number of scheduled lenders in the country increases to 62.
