NRB Bank
Bangladeshi financial institution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NRB Bank is one of the fourth-generation private banks in Bangladesh. Iqbal Ahmed, OBE, DBA, founder chairman of the bank and chairman & chief executive of Seamark Group, is the chairman of the NRB Bank.[2] Md Quamrul Islam Chowdhury is the chairman of the executive committee of the bank.[3] Tarek Reaz Khan is the managing director and chief executive officer of NRB Bank.[4]
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Mr. Iqbal Ahmed (OBE) DBA |
| Headquarters | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Area served | Bangladesh |
| Key people |
|
| Services | Banking Financial services |
| Website | www |
History
Migrants Bangladeshis had been demanding such a bank since the 1990s. However, Md. Bayazid Sarker, an economist and Central Bank official of Bangladesh, first developed a theoretical structure of the bank and officially floated the idea in his research paper titled "Alternative Resource of World Bank for External Financing in Bangladesh: A Foreign Remittance Approach" on 15 December 2007 in Dhaka.[5] Bangladesh Bank called for NRB bank applications in 2011 and finally issued three NRB Bank (Non-resident Bangladeshis Bank) licenses in 2013; the NRB Banks are NRB Commercial Bank Limited, NRB Bank Limited and NRB Global Bank Limited.[6][7] There is no difference between the operations of a regular bank and a NRB bank.[8]
In 2014, NRB Bank provided a loan to Mohammad Shahed, Chairman of Regent Hospital, without proper collateral.[9] The Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases over the loans in 2020 against Shahed and bank officials.[9][10]
In May 2015, Bangladesh Bank provided NRB Bank permission to operate agent banking.[11]
Md Mehmood Husain was appointed managing director of NRB Bank on 1 August 2016.[12] Md Mukhter Hossain, CEO and managing director of NRB Commercial Bank, was appointed an advisor to NRB Bank on 5 May 2021.[13]
In September 2021, a special internal audit of NRB Bank found that the bank engaged in "unethical" investments in the stock market, causing a loss of 1.03 billion taka to the bank and adversely affecting the stock market.[14][15] Bangladesh Bank fined the bank 4.95 million taka over the investments and market manipulation.[16][17][18] The chief financial officer of NRB Bank was terminated.[19] In the same month, the bank announced its intention to start an IPO.[20] On 27 September 2021, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed charges against M Badiuzzaman, Director of NRB Bank, and his wife for allegedly embezzling 25.3 million taka from the bank.[21]
In November 2021, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into the activities of NRB Bank.[22]
In March 2025, Iqbal Ahmed, OBE, DBA, was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of NRB Bank, replacing Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman.[2] In May 2025, Md Quamrul Islam Chowdhury was elected chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board.[3] In mid-2025, Tarek Reaz Khan was appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of NRB Bank for a three-year term.[4]