Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) has signed a Trade Facilitation deal with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support international trade business.
Md Obaidul Islam, Executive Vice President and Head of Financial Institutions and Offshore Banking of the EBL, and Steven Beck, Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance of the ADB, inked the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
Mr Beck informed that the Eastern Bank Limited is one of ADB’s Trade Finance Programme’s (TFP) partner banks in Bangladesh.
“We are confident that this renewed commitment to support trade finance will further boost development and support to SMEs in Bangladesh” he said.
EBL is a leading Private Commercial Bank and the first bank in Bangladesh rated by International Rating Agency ‘Moody’s, maintaining long term relationship with ADB to help facilitate the international trade businesses for its clients, according to a statement.
ADB’s TFP has supported over $3.2 billion in trade through 2,313 transactions in Bangladesh since 2010, with 50per cent targeting SMEs, it said.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members of which 48 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in co-financing.