In Bangladesh, the banking sector has boomed over the years. There are several types of institutions licensed under the central bank of Bangladesh. The list consists of many commercial banks, specialized banks, foreign banks, and non-bank financial institutions. Some of them are new, and some are doing business for a long time. Some are still small and some have become giants over time. Among them, only a few banks have made a good reputation in the market and managed to climb up to the top tier.
There are a total of 60 authorized banks in Bangladesh. Among them, there are 54 commercial banks. 9 foreign banks also enrich the growth. In this post, we are going to provide information about the top banks of Bangladesh. Hope this will help you to know what you need to know about the banks of Bangladesh.
Table of Contents
Types of banks in Bangladesh
Based on the ownership, the Banks of Bangladesh are divided into three categories. These are
- Private Bank
- International Bank
- Government bank
Government Banks of Bangladesh
After the liberation war of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Government reformed the banking system of Bangladesh. The state bank of Pakistan has been converted to Bangladesh Bank. There are a total of 11 government banks in Bangladesh. These banks’ lists are given below.
- Sonali Bank Limited
- Agrani Bank Limited
- Janata Bank Limited
- Rupali Bank Limited
- Bangladesh Krishi Bank
- Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank
- Pubali Bank Limited
- Bangladesh Development Bank Limited
- Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank
- Karmashangosthan Bank
- Palli Sanchay Bank
Private banks in Bangladesh
According to the Bangladesh Bank, there are 49 Private banks available in Bangladesh. Among these 49 banks, There are 9 foreign banks that are running in Bangladesh. So, we can tell that there are 40 private banks in Bangladesh. Private bank lists in Bangladesh are provided below.
List of Private Banks in BD
| Bank Name | Establishment |
| AB Bank Limited | 1981 |
| Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited | 1995 |
| Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited | 1998 |
| Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited | 1989 |
| Bank Asia Limited | 1999 |
| Bengal Commercial Bank Limited | 2020 |
| BRAC Bank Limited | 2001 |
| Dhaka Bank Limited | 1995 |
| Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited | 1995 |
| Eastern Bank Limited | 1992 |
| Export-Import Bank of Bangladesh Limited | 1999 |
| First Security Islami Bank Limited | 1999 |
| Global Islami Bank Limited | 2013 |
| ICB Islamic Bank Limited | 1987 |
| International Finance Invest and Commerce Bank Limited | 1976 |
| Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited | 1989 |
| Jamuna Bank Limited | 2001 |
| Meghna Bank Limited | 2013 |
| Mercantile Bank Limited | 1999 |
| Midland Bank Limited | 2013 |
| Modhumoti Bank Limited | 2013 |
| Mutual Trust Bank Limited | 1999 |
| National Bank Limited | 1983 |
| National Credit & Commerce Bank Limited | 1985 |
| NRB Bank Limited | 2013 |
| NRB Commercial Bank Limited | 2013 |
| One Bank Limited | 1999 |
| Padma Bank Limited | 2013 |
| Prime Bank Limited | 1995 |
| Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited | 2001 |
| Shimanto Bank Limited | 2016 |
| Social Islami Bank Limited | 1995 |
| South Bangla Agriculture & Commerce Bank Limited | 2013 |
| Southeast Bank Limited | 1995 |
| Standard Bank Limited | 1999 |
| The City Bank Limited | 1983 |
| HSBC Bank | 1996 |
| The Premier Bank Limited | 1999 |
| Trust Bank Limited | 1999 |
| Union Bank Limited | 2013 |
| United Commercial Bank Limited | 1983 |
Foreign Bank in Bangladesh
There are 9 Foreign banks in Bangladesh. These banks are operated from abroad. Below we have provided the list of foreign banks in Bangladesh.
| Bank Name | Operated Country |
| Bank Al-Falah Limited | United Arab Emirates |
| Citibank N.A | United States of America |
| Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC | Sri Lanka |
| Habib Bank Limited | Pakistan |
| HSBC | Hong Kong |
| National Bank of Pakistan | Pakistan |
| Standard Chartered Bank | United Kingdom |
| State Bank of India | India |
| Woori Bank | South Korea |
Based on the activities of the Bank, the Bank can be divided into three major categories. These are
- Commercial bank in Bangladesh
- Islamic Bank in Bangladesh
- Specialized Bank in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, Now different banks are providing mobile banking services. For example, Brac Bank is providing the bKash, Dutch Bangla Bank provides Rocket Mobile Banking Service, etc.
Top 20 Banks in Bangladesh
Here we have arranged the top bank list in Bangladesh. It is hard to make the best list as there are several criteria. We have tried our best to make the list perfect. Let’s have a look.
BRAC Bank Limited
BRAC Bank is one of the best private banks in Bangladesh. In 2001 Brac bank started its journey as a private commercial bank in Bangladesh. At that time, it focused on SME (small medium enterprises) banking. Now it has 456 SME Unit Offices. Fazle Hasan Abed is the founder of Brac Bank. Its head office is in Dhaka. Now, this bank has 187 branches all over the country with 18 premium Banking Lounges, 481 agent Banking Outlets, 375 ATMs, and 96 CDMs. According to 2020’s data, almost 7740 employees are working for this Bank. Bangladesh, Brac Bank is the only member of GABV (Global Alliance for Banking on Values). It shares the 3P Philosophy – People, Planet, and Profit with the patterns of GABV.
Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL)
Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd is the first joint venture private commercial Bank between two parties. One was the local Bangladeshi shareholder parties by M Sahabuddin Ahmed and another was the Dutch Company FMO. M Sahabuddin Ahmed is also the founder & first chairman of Dutch Bangla Bank. It started its journey on June 3, 1996. Till then Dutch Bangla Bank was one of the biggest private donors in Bangladesh. From the very beginning, this bank was financing high-growth manufacturing industries in Bangladesh. They mainly donate to social awareness programs and medical & educational equipment. Besides this in 2010 they launched the internet payment gateway system- Nexus. Through this system, merchants can charge their customers via Visa, Masters, DBBL Nexus, and Maestro cards online. They are also the first bank to offer banking facilities through mobile phones. They are the owners of the mobile banking service Rocket.
HSBC
HSBC is one of the oldest banks in the modern world. It is registered as Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. It is the foreign bank in Bangladesh as well as the largest bank in Hong Kong. The operation of HSBC started in Bangladesh in 1996 by offering a wide range of financial services e.g commercial banking, consumer banking, and many others.
Eastern Bank Ltd
A promise of service excellence is the main motto of Eastern Bank Limited. Eastern Bank is one of the oldest private commercial banks in Bangladesh. It started its journey in 1992. Currently, this bank has 92 branches in 22 districts. They are providing different services for consumers. Since its establishment, it provides quality services which makes it a brand.
AB Bank Limited
AB Bank introduces the first private bank in Bangladesh. It was inaugurated in 1981. It started its journey as Arab Bank. After one year, it changed its name to AB Bank which is Arab Bangladesh Bank. This bank provides services to the 36 districts of Bangladesh with 104 branches. Different kinds of financial services like Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, SME Banking, NRB Banking, Money Transfer, Islamic Banking, AB Securities Limited, Investment Banking, Cards, Safe Deposit Locker, Internet Banking, and Fund Transfer facilities are provided by this bank.
Prime Bank LTD
With 146 branches in 44 districts, Prime Bank is one of the pioneer banks in Bangladesh. In 1996 it started its journey in the banking field of Bangladesh. In 2020 it is globally recognized as the Best Digital Bank in Bangladesh. It operates in corporate, consumer, MSME, and sustainable banking. It offers commercial and Personal Banking services to all classes of people. Doing this job last year they launched a women’s banking facility named ‘Neera
The CITY Bank
Starting with one branch at B.B. Avenue in 1983, City Bank has now 112 branches all over the country. It is one of the oldest private commercial banks. 12 young businessmen started this bank at that time and now almost 4500 people are working for this Bank. In 2008 they reformed their name to ‘City Bank’ from ‘the City Bank Limited’ with a new logo.
Bank Asia LTD
Bank Asia was the first bank that acquired the operation of two foreign banks which are the Bank of Nova Scotia in Dhaka, and the Bangladesh operations of Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd (MCB), a renowned Pakistani Bank. Some young entrepreneurs started their journey in 1999. Now it has 90 more branches all over the country where almost three thousand people work.
Standard Bank LTD
Standard Bank Limited (SBL) is a private commercial bank in Bangladesh that started its journey on 3rd June 1999. It was approved with 750 million takas at that time. Whereas now it has overseas branches with 113 branches in 41 districts in Bangladesh. With the objective to be a dynamic leader in the financial market, they are continuously trying to innovate new products as to the needs of society.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd
Islami Bank is the first Islamic Bank that follows Islamic Shari’ah in South East Asia since 1983. All across the country it now has 342 branches. To establish Islamic Banking through the introduction of a welfare-oriented banking system and also ensure equity and justice in the field of all economic activities, achieve balanced growth and equitable development through diversified investment operations, particularly in the priority sectors and less developed areas of the country this bank started their journey. Since the beginning, they are still working to prove it.
Standard Chartered Bank
Opening the first branch in Chittagong, the port city in 1948 the oldest renowned bank is Standard Chartered Bank. It is also the oldest international bank which has been operating in our country since 1905. Today they have 24 branches in different districts where almost 1900 people work. It provides services and products in trade finance, cash management, lending, securities services, foreign exchange, debt capital markets, and corporate finance. Standard Chartered Saadiq, our Islamic Banking division, offers a comprehensive range of Shariah-compliant products.
Sonali Bank
After the liberation war in 1972, Sonali Bank started its journey under the Bangladesh Bank. Now Sonali Bank has a total of 1024 branches. After independence, it was the largest and most nationalized commercial bank. In 2007 it was fully converted into a Public Limited Company with 100% ownership by the government. Still, now they are doing an outstanding job.
IFIC Bank LTD
International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank Limited shortly after IFIC bank. It is a joint venture private commercial bank with govt. of Bangladesh. In 1976 it started its journey. After that gradually they set up their first overseas joint venture and first overseas branch. Now it has 136 branches around 42 districts
Mutual Trust Bank
In 1999 Mutual Trust Bank was incorporated as a Public Limited Company. It started its journey with Authorized Share Capital of BDT 1,000,000,000 divided into 10,000,000 ordinary shares of BDT 100 each which at present is BDT 10,000,000,000 divided into 1,000,000,000 ordinary shares of BDT 10 each. It has a total of 112 branches over the country.
Janata Bank Limited
Janata Bank is the second largest state-owned commercial bank in Bangladesh. It started its journey in 1972 as United Bank Limited. Later it changed its name to Janata Bank limited. There are a total of 913 Branches of Janata Bank in Bangladesh. They also run four overseas branches in the UAE.
Agrani Bank Limited
Agrani Bank is one of the most popular nationalized banks in Bangladesh. After the independence of Bangladesh, Habib Bank was converted into Agrani Bank. It is one of the top state-owned banks in Bangladesh. From the very beginning, it provides different services e.g. General Banking, Merchant Banking, and many others.
Premier Bank Limited
The premier bank was established in 1999. It is one of the most renowned commercial private banks in Bangladesh. A total of 104 branches in 29 districts provide services of Premier Bank. It provides different financial services like loans, Islamic Banking services, Universal exchange, and so on. It is a private commercial Bank.
Bangladesh Krishi Bank
Krishi is a Bangla word that refers to agriculture. Bangladesh Krishi Bank is the state-owned specialized Bank in Bangladesh. It was established in 1973 to solve the financial problem of agriculture-related problems. From the very beginning, it’s maintained its quality.
Shahjalal Islami Bank LTD
Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited (SJIBL) is another private commercial bank that follows Islamic Shari’ah. Since 2001 it is continuously doing its job to make significant contributions to the national economy and enhance customers’ trust & wealth, quality investment, employees’ value, and rapid growth in shareholders’ equity. This is their only vision in this banking sector.
First Security Islami Bank
First Security Islami Bank Limited is a fully Shariah-based Bank and follows Islamic Rules and Regulations. It was established in 1999. From the very beginning, this bank works for social welfare. All over the country now it has 178 branches.
How many banks are there in Bangladesh?
There are a total of 61 Schedule banks that are under the supervision of Bangladesh. Besides these, there are 5 non-scheduled banks that are also available here. These are Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank, Karmashangosthan Bank, Grameen Bank, Jubilee Bank, Palli Sanchay Bank
Which is the Largest bank in Bangladesh?
Sonali Bank is the largest Bank in Bangladesh. It is one of the government-owned banks in Bangladesh.
Which bank is best for DPS in Bangladesh?
Prime Bank is one of the best banks for DPS. Though it is tough work to consider which is best. According to our consideration, Prime bank is the best for DPS.
That’s all about the top 20 banks in Bangladesh. We are here to make this list based on the different criteria of Bangladesh. We have considered the popularity of the bank, total branches, customer services, bank profit, and other features. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to comment.
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