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Of the total, Islami Bank Bangladesh had the highest, or 30.10% of market shares of the total remittance earned through banking channels
Five banks hold nearly 60% shares of the total inbound remittance in the April-June quarter of this year owing to their strong distribution networks and good management that attracted much of the Bangladeshi diaspora.
Bangladeshi expatriates sent $4.43 billion in remittances during the second quarter (April-June) of 2020, according to a report of the Bangladesh Bank (BB). The figure was 2.6% lower than in the same quarter of the previous year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Of the total, Islami Bank Bangladesh had the highest, or 30.10% of market shares of the total remittance earned through banking channels.
Since its establishment, Islami Bank has been giving particular importance toward attracting remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis, according to a high official at Islami Bank Bangladesh ltd.
The bank has made remittance arrangements with 130 banks and exchange houses in 16 countries, notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UK, the USA and Singapore.
In addition, the bank has been working with some of the world’s largest banks and international money transfer companies such as MoneyGram, Xpress Money and Transfast to manage remittances, it is learnt.
Besides, Dutch Bangla Bank holds 9.6% in market shares, Agrani Bank holds 8.4%, Sonali Bank holds 7.9% and Bank Asia holds 3.8% in market shares of the total remittance earnings during the second quarter of this year, as per BB report on Remittance Earnings.
Strong distribution channels, good management and incentives were the key reasons behind holding the major market shares of the remittance earnings by the top five banks, said a high official of the Bangladesh Bank.
Agent banking in rural areas has been a bridge between Bangladeshi expatriates and their relatives in the matter of sending their income home amid the pandemic, he added.
The amount of inward remittances through agent banking rose to Tk26,650 crore at the end of June this year.
The top five remittance earning banks have many agent outlets in rural areas, which made them the top remittance earning banks, another BB official has said.
Agrani Bank recently announced a 3% incentive in remittances and launched a mobile App for Bangladeshi expatriates to boost remittance earnings.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, the bank’s managing director, Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam said Agrani Bank had announced an additional 1% incentive for Bangladeshi expatriates sending remittances through the bank.
“Besides, we have launched a mobile App for expatriates so that they can send their hard–earned money from their houses amid the pandemic,” Shams-Ul Islam said.
Consequently, Agrani has become one of the top remittance earning banks , he added.
In the last fiscal year, the country’s remittance inflow hit a new record of $18.20 billion, up by 10.87% compared to FY 2018-19.
Experts said the remittance inflow had increased because Bangladeshi expatriates sent more money to their relatives as most of the latter had lost their sources of income. Besides, a huge number of Bangladeshis had sent all their savings to their families before their return home, they added.
Most expatriates had sent their hard–earned money through banking channels instead of hundi owing to the pandemic, which had also boosted remittance earnings, said Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank, Dhaka office.
(DT)
