Now gets going a bank under joint venture of Bangladesh Navy and Air Force as part of the process of licensing banking operations in newer sectors, officials said.
They said the 'Maritime Bank Ltd' got the go-ahead from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina late November gave her consent to Navy and Air Force's plan to set up a commercial bank which will facilitate financial services for people serving in these two defence forces, they added.
Bangladesh Nau Kalyan Foundation, a welfare enterprise of Bangladesh Navy, will operate the proposed bank.
This week the central bank issued a letter of intent in favour of Simanta Bank which is sponsored by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
Of the three armed forces, Bangladesh Army owns a bank namely Trust Bank Limited. The Army Welfare Trust (AWT) operates the bank since 1999.
Among the law-enforcement agencies only the Ansar-VDP duo has a bank styled Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank. It's a specialised bank in nature.
According to the officials, Naval Chief M Farid Habib on September 26 applied to the PMO for permission to set up the bank.
In the letter he said the number of navy personnel had already surpassed 22,000. The banking need of the force has increased significantly as the navy performs ever- intensifying functions related to public and non-public funds, welfare, ships deployed in UN mission, foreign goodwill tours of ships and other economic activities.
To carry out the above-mentioned functions, Mr Habib pointed out, the navy constantly avails expensive banking services from a number of commercial banks.
"Therefore, it is an expert view that Bangladesh Navy will benefit immensely in terms of cost, time, and service efficiency if it can avail the banking services from a commercial bank under its own management," he said to justify the prayer for permission to have a bank of their own.
He also said the bank will contribute substantially to the economy by facilitating economic activities of various internal and external entities and projects associated with the Bangladesh Navy.
"Furthermore, the bank will facilitate large investment in maritime and aviation sectors, particularly in import-export, ship-and aircraft-building industries, various ports, maritime trade, fishery project, inland water transport, deep-sea fishing projects and offshore investment," the navy chief elaborated on the area of business of the bank.
The bank will also run other commercial banking activities. And thus it will contribute greatly to the national economy by augmenting banking operations in the coastal-island regions and also expanding blue economy and sea commerce.
Mr Habib claimed that the bank would be able to run profitably and would not incur loss. In this case he referred to a study carried out by a consultancy firm which said a commercial bank under the management of Navy will make profit in the wake of continued economic progress of the country. Presently, a total of 56 scheduled banks are in operation in Bangladesh.
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