BRAC Bank achieves unique milestone of serving 10 lakh SME customers

BRAC Bank has achieved a milestone of serving 10 lakh SME customers, an unprecedented accomplishment in the industry. In fulfilling the entrepreneurial dreams of the customers, the bank has disbursed SME loans worth BDT 1 lakh crore to grassroots entrepreneurs across Bangladesh in 21 years of its operations. 

The bank organized a celebratory ceremony at its head office on December 7, 2022 where all regional and SME Unit Office’s employees joined virtually. The bank’s Managing Director & CEO Selim R. F. Hussain, DMD & Head of SME Banking Syed Abdul Momen and senior management officials joined the celebration. 

On this achievement, Selim R.F. Hussain said: “The success of BRAC Bank in SME Banking lies in the vision of the bank’s board, especially our founder chairman Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, who envisioned to bring the unbanked ‘missing middle’ through this inclusive banking model. Good governance and a customer-centric business model were key to institutionalizing SME Banking and making it financially viable. Our vibrant culture within the organization and passionate and dedicated people drive the business to the pinnacle.”

“Following the footsteps of Sir Abed for financial inclusion, we will continue to focus on SME Banking and make the portfolio bigger. In this digital age, we will use technology, adopt innovative ways to achieve more milestones, and break new ground in SME frontiers. We gratefully thank our valued customers for their unwavering trust in BRAC Bank, which has helped us to achieve such an outstanding milestone.”

As part of the celebration, BRAC Bank is organizing a countrywide roadshow where of all 187 branches and 460 SME unit offices will participate to engage with the customers and express thankfulness to them. As a part of the activation, BRAC Bank’s DMD & Head of SME Banking Syed Abdul Momen along with more than 200 members of the SME team and adjacent cluster heads had a discussion session with the shop owners of Dhaka New Market on December 7, 2022. BRAC bank’s SME dedicated 3,000 relationship officers visited their adjacent markets to show their gratefulness to the SMEs.   

With the vision to take institutional banking to the ‘unbanked’ small and medium enterprises (SMEs), BRAC Bank pioneered SME Banking in Bangladesh right since its inception in 2001. 

BRAC Bank introduced small-ticket loans to bring grassroots entrepreneurs under the umbrella of formal banking. Today, the bank’s exceptional SME Banking services and products provide access to formal finance to the cottage, micro and small enterprises that were previously left out of the traditional commercial banking system. 

Over the years, the bank has emerged as Bangladesh's largest financier of collateral-free SME loans. BRAC Bank is the only bank in the country having an SME portfolio constituting more than 50% of its total loan portfolio. Presently, the bank’s SME loan outstanding stands at BDT 20,000 crore, of which 85% is without collateral, unprecedented in Bangladesh’s banking sector. BRAC Bank’s collateral free SME loan has become the first choice of any SME when they decide to enter into the formal banking channel. SME loan rural penetration of BRAC Bank is 60% which directly impacts in revitalizing the rural economy and creating employment.