Pubali Bank Limited

It is my honor to welcome you at the 37th Annual General Meeting of Pubali Bank Limited. I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude for your support and co-operation with the bank. Our CEO, the management team, and I, on behalf of the Board of Directors of Pubali Bank Limited, are pleased to report that our approach to responsible growth produced solid returns for investors in 2019. It is my privilege to present before you the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December, 2019 for your appraisal, comments and approval.

Pubali Bank Limited initially emerged in the banking scenario of the then East Pakistan with the initiative of some Bangalee entrepreneurs in the year 1959 as Eastern Mercantile Bank Limited. This year the bank completes sixty (60) years of service. During the last six decades it has played a significant role in the economic life of the country with its dynamic services. Through these years of services Pubali Bank Limited has proven to be one of the leading banks of the country. Every birthday or anniversary is significant for any institution. So we executed various celebratory events and activities to mark this significant year of the bank. We arranged a grand programme at Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka to celebrate its diamond jubilee which became a platform for commemorating the glorious journey of the bank from its inception with its customers and shareholders.

Banking industry of Bangladesh is undergoing a rapid and profound evolution. Industry players across the board faced turbulent times in the recent past and many challenges are yet to be over. It is against this challenging operating economic environment that the bank delivered financial performances. I am happy to let you know that our bank maintained its position as one of the top performing banks in the country despite numerous challenges in the sector. During the year 2019, the bank generated a consolidated operating profit of BDT 982.32 crore which was BDT 927.34 crore in 2018 that means the bank registered an upward growth in profit of 5.93% while profit after tax reached to BDT 216.29 crore which was BDT 362.70 crore in 2018. Its deposit reached to BDT 35,842.91 crore which is 16.37% higher than that of previous year. Return on Asset (RoA) and Return on Equity (RoE) are respectively 0.45% and 7.51%. Our efficiency in cost management had also been reflected in minimal increase of cost to income ratio to 47.81% from around 47.66%. Through our strict evaluation and careful monitoring of lending portfolio we managed to reduce the number of NPL from 5.46% to 4.38%. Our bank plays a vital role in the country's export and import business. Last year we handled import and export business respectively worth BDT 52,656.90 million and BDT 100,379.90 million. Our total assets increased by 15.80% to BDT 47,504.79 crore and loans and advances increased to BDT 28,761.31 crore from BDT 27,149.46 crore in the year 2019 with a positive growth of 5.94%.

Pubali Bank Limited is committed to adopting the highest standards of Corporate Governance. As we believe that sound Corporate Governance is an indispensible component for corporate success and sustainable economic growth, we strongly remain committed to values and ethical business conduct. The bank through its stringent adherence to compliances aims to enhance and retain investor's trust and social acceptability. We are committed to conducting the bank's operations with transparency and honesty towards all its stakeholders including customers, shareholders, regulators, employees and the general public at large. As the country's one of the best financial institutions, Pubali Bank Limited maintains a healthy corporate governance culture to provide stakeholders with the highest level of accountability by clarifying and making publicly known the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors and management. The bank has developed a policy guideline on code of conduct for the directors and employees of the bank. As a strong advocate of sustainable growth, we ensure regular meeting of Board of Directors, function of Board's sub-committees, fair financial reporting and a risk management system as well as other pivotal principals of Good Governance.

We have long maintained that it is important to remain focused on technology. We believe that digitization is fast transforming the business model of the banking industry in Bangladesh. So we have built our systems to enable straight through processing for faster and more efficient operations. Our target is to touch the lives of millions of Bangladeshi in a positive way by providing high-quality banking products and services to them, with particular focus on aspiring consumers and entrepreneurs, using contemporary technology. So we have embedded in internet and mobile banking solutions to make our online banking experience more convenient, simple and one of the best in the market. We are focused on efficient utilization of technology to deliver high quality services to our customers with less effort but at the same time we take ICT risks in serious consideration. Considering the several breaches in ICT uses at some financial institutions in the recent years, the bank, as per the guidelines of Bangladesh Bank, has introduced a series of initiatives designed to provide protection for the bank itself and the customers from frauds and financial crimes. Moreover the bank is seriously working on making its online systems most efficient as we believe that COVID-19 will compel customers to be more dependent on online services than ever.

We are experiencing a totally new type of crisis due to COVID-19 which is liable to create a global recession. The impact of this unprecedented crisis on the global economy is likely to be very large. In a strongly connected and integrated world, the impact of this crisis will go beyond national borders and economies. As such, Governments, including Bangladesh, around the world have been preparing contingency plans and aid packages to sustain their economies. The spread of COVID-19 is not only a health crisis. The initiatives taken to prevent its spreading by social distancing are also threatening the survival of industries and many small businesses. However, we hope that the government policies in the coming months and in the context of the budget for 2019-2020 will be directed towards creating hope and confidence. I believe the banking sector as a whole will face and overcome this crisis without fear and apprehension by taking prudent steps.

Finally I, on behalf of the Board of Directors, would like to thank our dedicated management and a committed workforce across the country for their hard work and commitment during the year because it is they who drive the bank's performances. I thank our customers for their confidence in the bank. My thanks and gratitude goes to the concerned regulatory bodies including Bangladesh Bank for their timely recommendations and intervention through various policy guidelines. Most importantly, I would like to thank all of our valued shareholders for your continued support and hope that you will continue doing so through the challenging journey of the bank ahead.

With best regards