Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) will provide $60 million foreign currency facility to Agrani Bank to support its trade financing activities.

To this effect, Standard Chartered Bank recently signed an agreement with Agrani Bank Limited.

SCB is providing such financing facility, the first-ever structured foreign currency facility extended to a state-owned bank in Bangladesh, considering that the foreign currency facility will support country's overall growth in trade financing, said a press release.

Jim McCabe, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh and Abrar Anwar, Managing Director, Head of Origination and Client Coverage, Bangladesh, and Dr. Khondoker Bazlul Hoque Haq, Chairman of Agrani Bank, Syed Abdul Hamid, Managing Director and CEO of Agrani Bank Limited attended the function.

Ranjan Ghosh, Global Head of Banks, Vinod Aachi, Global Head for Regional Financial Markets on behalf of Standard Chartered were also present.

Jim McCabe, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh said “I’m really glad that we have yet again set a first of its kind example in Bangladesh through this deal. This is the first foreign currency funding transaction to a bank in Bangladesh from Standard Chartered headquarters and we hope to give more support to Bangladesh banking sector considering the growth potential.”

Dr. Khondoker Bazlul Hoque, Chairman of Agrani Bank said, “This has opened a new avenue where we are being able to bring foreign currency to Bangladesh to support the growing financial sector in the country.

News: Daily Sun/Bangladesh/17-Sep-12