Our Distinguished Stakeholders,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 41st Annual General Meeting of Pubali Bank PLC. The bank has stepped into 65th year of its service. It is now well known in the banking sector of the country that Pubali Bank PLC. is one of those few financial institutions within the national arena which have proven resilience time and again by overcoming various economic and financial crises. It is now one of the top performing banks in the country. At the outset of this auspicious moment, I extend my thanks and gratitude to each one of you for your continued support and co-operation. I have great pleasure in placing the Annual Report of the bank for the year ended 31 December, 2023 along with the Audited Financial Statements for your review, comments, and perusal. Before I go on to let you know about the business performance of the bank I would like to discuss on the global and national economic scenario of the year 2023. The global economic growth in 2023 was predicted to remain highly uncertain due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years and the growing adverse effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. The slowdown of global economic activity was observed due to spikes in commodity prices and supply chain disruption caused by the negative effects of the war. The year 2023 experienced a record-breaking high inflation rate all over the world including developed countries like United States and some emerging and developing economies. According to the United Nation Publication "World Economic Situation and prospect 2023" the global economy grew only by 3.00% in 2023 which was 0.5% less than the previous year. On the other hand, whereas Bangladesh economy had been growing consistently high over a decade or so crossing 7.0 percent milestone in FY 2015- 16 and 8.0 percent milestone in FY 2018-19, its progress had been seriously impeded due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and Russia- Ukraine war. It is on this backdrop of national and international economic situation that the bank operated and achieved success. I am happy to report that Pubali Bank PLC. continues to be one of the top performing banks due to cautious and insightful decision making and dedication of the Management and all employees. The bank made in record breaking achievements in various indicators and the following is the summary position as on 31st December 2023: The bank generated a consolidated operating profit of BDT 1566.50 crore in 2023 which was BDT 1180.62 crore in 2022 that means the bank registered an upward growth in profit of 32.68% while profit after tax reached to BDT 694.98 crore which was BDT 564.80 crore in 2022. Its deposit reached to BDT 60,629.64 crore which is 18.68% higher than that of previous year and Capital adequacy rate is 13.87% while credit-deposit ratio (CDR) of the bank calculated at 86.85%.

Our total assets increased by BDT 10,211.08 crore and loans and advances increased to BDT 55,495.55 crore from BDT 46,188.41 crore in the year 2023 with a positive growth of 20.95% and Return on Asset (RoA) and Return on Equity (ROE) are respectively 0.89% and 14.53% in the year 2023. Through strict evaluation and careful monitoring of lending portfolio the bank successfully managed to keep its NPL ratio around 2.86% while the CD ratio of the bank increased to 86.85% which was 84.79% in the preceding year. The bank's efficiency in cost management had also been reflected in decrease of cost to income ratio to 49.75% from 55.00%. Pubali Bank PLC. plays a vital role in the country's export and import business. Due to best possible use of virtual platform in our banking communication, it was able to handle import and export business as well as foreign remittance respectively worth BDT 29,544.64 crore, BDT 19,674.71 crore and BDT 12,300 crore. Taking into account the shareholder expectations and the dividend policy of the bank, a total dividend of 12.50% cash and 12.50% stock has been recommended for the year 2023 subject to approval of our shareholders at the 41st Annual General Meeting of the bank.

Corporate social responsibility is a self-regulating business model by which companies make a concerted effort to operate in ways that develop 3 rather than degrade society and the environment at the same time. We believe it can help improve various aspects of society as well as promote a positive brand image for companies. So Corporate --social responsibility has become an integral part of our bank. We are aware about the challenges and hazard faced by environment in the present world. Our aim is to impact the society positively by making effective and meaningful contributions in various sectors. Our objective of the bank’s CSR policy is to bring about an overall positive e impact with our contributions to improvement of living standards of the society specially the underprivileged. Like every year, the bank e implemented its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program throughout the year 2023. During the year the bank has made an active contribution towards various causes including health care, education, art and cultures, sports, and environment. Corporate Governance is a concept referring to practices and procedures for ensuring that a company runs in a manner to meet its objectives and at the same time earn the confidence of its stakeholders. It is all about effective, transparent, and accountable administrations of affairs of an institution to protect the interests of the stakeholders including shareholders, creditors, regulators, and the public in general. We are of the view that any financial institution, besides managerial capacity and insight, rests on good governance. So, we continuously review and update our policies regarding corporate governance. We made significant progress in reinforcing our Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism capabilities through system enhancements, new processes, and awareness programs. Our commitment to good governance is reflected in the diversity of age and experience of our Board of Directors also. The Board of Directors of our bank comprises of 14 members of which 2 are women. As a strong advocate of sustainable growth, we ensure regular meetings of Board of Directors, functions of Board's sub-committees, fair financial reporting, and a risk management system as per the guideline of Bangladesh Bank and other regulatory bodies. We take measures to ensure independent and unbiased decision-making processes and controls to ensure the interests of the bank's shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and above all the community in where we operate our business. In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our stakeholders, customers and business partners whose support and co-operation has eased our way to success. I also express my thanks and admiration to the Management Team and employees for their dedication and hard work because it is they who made it possible to take the bank through turbulent times and produce excellent results. I would give special thanks to Mr. Mohammad Ali, the Managing Director & CEO of the bank along with his spirited team. My gratitude and thanks go to the concerned regulatory bodies including Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC. (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange PLC. (CSE) for their timely recommendations and intervention through various policy guidelines. I hope Pubali Bank PLC. will continue to perform more efficiently and reach to greater heights by providing the best services to our valued customers.

With best regards,

Mr. Mohammad Ali

Managing Director & CEO