BRAC Bank eyes retail expansion, aims to become ‘Amazon of banks’

BRAC Bank has unveiled a major strategic shift towards retail banking, aiming to bring millions of unbanked Bangladeshis into the formal financial system through digital services as it seeks to become the "Amazon of Banks".

Announcing the new vision at the bank's 25th anniversary celebration yesterday, Chairperson Meheriar M Hasan said BRAC Bank is moving beyond its long-standing "Missing Middle" strategy, which focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to a new "Missing Majority" mission centred on retail banking and financial inclusion.

"With the 'Missing Majority' concept, we are going to be the Amazon of Banks, where customers will be able to meet their A-to-Z financial needs through the bank," Hasan said.

As part of its silver jubilee celebrations, BRAC Bank also honoured 25 organisations for their outstanding contributions to Bangladesh's socio-economic development.

The recipients are Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), BIRDEM General Hospital, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), Anjuman Mufidul Islam, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), the Bangladesh Women's National Football Team, Kumudini Nursing College, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari), Thalassemia Foundation Hospital, BRAC Bangladesh, Notre Dame College, Square Pharmaceuticals PLC, Chhayanaut, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), bKash Limited, Grameenphone, Apex Footwear Limited, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, ACI Group, PRAN-RFL Group, Bengal Foundation, Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan (BKSP), and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

Meheriar M Hasan said the bank will leverage digital technology and data to deliver simpler, more accessible and personalised financial services, enabling people to access banking regardless of where they live or how they earn.

Hasan noted that only about 28% of adults in Bangladesh currently use formal banking services, leaving nearly 72% outside the banking system despite contributing significantly to the economy. First-time earners, women, informal-sector workers, gig workers and millions of rural residents remain underserved by conventional banks, he added.

Describing the initiative as the next phase of BRAC Bank's financial inclusion journey, Hasan said the bank's "Missing Middle" strategy has transformed SME banking over the past 25 years. During that period, the bank financed around 20 lakh entrepreneurs, disbursed more than Tk2 lakh crore in SME loans and maintained a non-performing loan ratio of about 3%.

Speaking at the event, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Tareq Refatullah Khan said BRAC Bank continues to contribute to Bangladesh's economic growth through financial inclusion, digital transformation and sustainable financing.

He said the bank channelled about $1.8 billion of Bangladesh's nearly $26 billion in remittance inflows in 2023.

Tareq added that BRAC Bank's TARA platform has enrolled more than 5,00,000 women customers and entrepreneurs, while its retail banking portfolio has grown to Tk63,000 crore, making it one of the country's largest.

He also said bKash now serves more than eight crore users, while BRAC Bank manages a Tk1.7 lakh crore portfolio, 83% of which qualifies as sustainable financing. Over the past 25 years, the bank's corporate social responsibility initiatives have positively impacted around 6 million people.