NRB Bank

Last updated

NRB Bank
Company type Public
Industry Banking
Founded2013
FounderMr. Iqbal Ahmed (OBE) DBA
Headquarters Dhaka, Bangladesh
Area served
Bangladesh
Key people
[1]
Services Banking
Financial services
Website www.nrbbankbd.com

NRB Bank is one of the fourth-generation private banks in Bangladesh. Iqbal Ahmed, OBE, DBA, founder chairman of the bank and chairman & chief executive of Seamark Group, is the chairman of the NRB Bank. [2] Md Quamrul Islam Chowdhury is the chairman of the executive committee of the bank. [3] Tarek Reaz Khan is the managing director and chief executive officer of NRB Bank. [4]

History

Migrants Bangladeshis had been demanding such a bank since the 1990s. However, Md. Bayazid Sarker, an economist and Central Bank official of Bangladesh, first developed a theoretical structure of the bank and officially floated the idea in his research paper titled "Alternative Resource of World Bank for External Financing in Bangladesh: A Foreign Remittance Approach" on 15 December 2007 in Dhaka. [5] Bangladesh Bank called for NRB bank applications in 2011 and finally issued three NRB Bank (Non-resident Bangladeshis Bank) licenses in 2013; the NRB Banks are NRB Commercial Bank Limited, NRB Bank Limited and NRB Global Bank Limited. [6] [7] There is no difference between the operations of a regular bank and a NRB bank. [8]

In 2014, NRB Bank provided a loan to Mohammad Shahed, Chairman of Regent Hospital, without proper collateral. [9] The Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases over the loans in 2020 against Shahed and bank officials. [9] [10]

In May 2015, Bangladesh Bank provided NRB Bank permission to operate agent banking. [11]

Md Mehmood Husain was appointed managing director of NRB Bank on 1 August 2016. [12] Md Mukhter Hossain, CEO and managing director of NRB Commercial Bank, was appointed an advisor to NRB Bank on 5 May 2021. [13]

In September 2021, a special internal audit of NRB Bank found that the bank engaged in "unethical" investments in the stock market, causing a loss of 1.03 billion taka to the bank and adversely affecting the stock market. [14] [15] Bangladesh Bank fined the bank 4.95 million taka over the investments and market manipulation. [16] [17] [18] The chief financial officer of NRB Bank was terminated. [19] In the same month, the bank announced its intention to start an IPO. [20] On 27 September 2021, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed charges against M Badiuzzaman, Director of NRB Bank, and his wife for allegedly embezzling 25.3 million taka from the bank. [21]

In November 2021, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into the activities of NRB Bank. [22]

In March 2025, Iqbal Ahmed, OBE, DBA, was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of NRB Bank, replacing Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman. [2] In May 2025, Md Quamrul Islam Chowdhury was elected chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. [3] In mid-2025, Tarek Reaz Khan was appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of NRB Bank for a three-year term. [4]

References

  1. "Mr. Iqbal Ahmed (OBE) DBA new chairman of NRB Bank". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Iqbal Ahmed elected chairman of NRB Bank". NRB Bank PLC. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 "NRB elects new chairman of executive board of directors". The Business Standard (Press release). 12 May 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Tarek Reaz Khan joins as MD & CEO". NRB Bank PLC. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  5. Sarker, M.B. (2010). Bangladesh Economic Association Samoiki 2010. pp 689–701. thesteps.org
  6. "First NRB bank starts journey". The Daily Star. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  7. "NRB Bank takes off". The Daily Star. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  8. "No clear BB guideline for NRB banks". The Daily Star. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 Khan, Mahbubur Rahman (22 July 2020). "Loan from NRB Bank: No rules meant for Shahed". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  10. "Shahed accused in NRB Bank scam case". The Daily Star. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  11. "Bank Asia, NRB Bank get approval for agent banking". The Daily Star. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  12. "Mehmood Husain, new CEO of NRB Bank". The Daily Star. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  13. "NRB Bank gets adviser". The Daily Star. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  14. Uddin, AKM Zamir; Habib, Ahsan (29 September 2021). "NRB Bank deliberately loses Tk 103cr to favour stock gamblers". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  15. "NRB Bank involved in stock market scandal?". The Daily Star. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  16. Habib, Ahsan (17 September 2021). "NRB Bank fined for breaking stock investment rules". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  17. "NRB Bank fined Tk49.50 lakh for share price manipulation". The Business Standard. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  18. "NRB Bank gets the regulator's stick for overreaching investment ceiling". The Financial Express. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  19. "How banks fuelled stock prices". The Business Standard. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  20. "NRB Bank to go public". The Business Standard. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  21. "Case filed by ACC against NRB Bank director and his wife". UNB. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  22. "Probe body formed to investigate against NRB Bank". Risingbd.com. Retrieved 14 August 2025.