Mercantile Bank Limited Managing Director & CEO Kazi Masihur Rahman addressing a press conference at the bank's head office on Wednesday, highlighting the bank's achievements last year and future action plans in presence of the bank's Vice Chairman A. S. M. Feroz Alam and Chairman of the Risk Management Committee M. Amanullah, among others Mercantile Bank Limited (MBL) wants to secure the top position among the country's private commercial banks (PCBs) in the coming days.
The high officials of the bank charted the vision at a press conference held at the MBL headquarters in the capital's Dilkusha commercial area on Wednesday.
The event was part of celebrating the bank's 19th founding anniversary on June 02.
MBL Vice-chairman ASM Feroz Alam and directors Akram Hossain Humayun, Mohammad Selim, M Amanullah and Mosharref Hossain spoke at the briefing.
MBL Managing Director and CEO Kazi Masihur Rahman moderated the programme.
Mr Amanullah, also chairman of the bank's risk management committee, said, "We've secured fourth position among the PCBs in terms of performance."
"Now, it's a big task ahead of us to make the MBL the number-one bank in future," he said emphatically.
The MBL CEO said the bank has been maintaining a sustained growth trend with increased deposits, loans and advances, capital, dividends and profits.
The bank's non-performing loans (NPLs) have also declined, he mentioned.
He said the MBL has been doing well compared to the first-generation banks of the country.
Earlier, the bank received 'B-1' rating and 'stable outlook' by international credit rating company Moody's.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) also recognised the MBL as a member of Large Taxpayers' Unit (LTU), he mentioned.
About performance, Mr Rahman said the MBL's deposit base rose to Tk 216.97 billion as of March 31, 2018.
The loan and advance portfolio also stood at Tk 203.01 billion during the period.
The operating profit of the bank rose to Tk 1.67 billion till March 31, 2018. The balance sheet portfolio stood at Tk 262.78 billion.
The export value increased to Tk 134.75 billion, import Tk 190.75 billion and remittance Tk 29.97 billion till December 31, 2017, he added.
Mr Rahman further said that the MBL will establish a new subsidiary soon to develop its new products related to mobile financial services (MFSs).
Speaking at the event, MBL vice-chairman said the entire banking industry has been suffering for bad performance by some banks.
The people have got a bad perception about the industry through the mass media.
"The local media should be careful about reporting such issues. Not all the banks are underperforming or plagued by irregularities," he added.
The MBL started operations on June 2, 1999. The late Awami League lawmaker Abdul Jalil was its founding chairman.
The bank has so far opened 129 branches across the country and is scheduled to open 10 more branches by this year.
The bank maintains its ATM network with 162 booths.
The MBL has two subsidiaries-Mercantile Bank Securities Ltd and Mercantile Exchange House (UK) Ltd.
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