Southeast Bank takes challenge to serve women

Banks may know its total clients based on gender. But they may not know how much potential women clients have to make business profitable.

Amid such scenario, a private bank has taken the challenge of providing all kinds of banking services to women exclusively from two branches with the motive of doing business in the competitive banking sector.

The Southeast Bank Ltd (SEBL) has opened two ladies branches in Dhanmondi and Moghbazar with the noble goal to serve women clients whoever they are housewives, students, professionals or entrepreneurs.

Challenges remain for the bank is to make the branches profitable with different banking products.

The Dhanmondi and Moghbazar branches of the SEBL are now serving ladies to meet their banking needs like savings accounts, deposit, small credit facilities. They, however, find big educational institutions exclusively for female students or organisations dominated by women as potential clients.

"Scenario has now been changing. We get innumerable educational institutions, entrepreneurs and housewives surrounding our branch areas, they are our target groups," said Dhanmondi branch manager Mahmuda Begum.

While sharing experience of the two-month-old branch, she said, an enthusiasm has already been visible among ladies around her branch areas to open accounts in ladies branch. They feel comfortable to come to the branches where everything is run by women and every product is for women.

Moghbazar branch manager Shawkat Afifa is hopeful about doing business. Her point is that several women based-organisations which work for women empowerment and entrepreneurship development are located around her branch. "These organisations and their members will be our potential clients for my branch."

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