Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The market share of state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) has declined while that of the private commercial banks (PCBs) increased gradually, officials said.
"In 2008 the SCBs held 31.1 percent of the total industry assets against 33.1 percent in 2007. PCBs' share rose to 54.2 percent in 2008 against 51.4 percent in 2007," the central bank said in its annual report for the fiscal 2008-09, released Sunday.
The SCBs held 33.1 percent of the total industry assets in 2007 against 32.7 percent in 2006 while PCBs' share rose to 51.4 percent compared to 47.7 percent of the previous year, according to the central bank statistics.
The central bank has asked four SCBs to increase their combined market share using their extensive branch network across the country, officials said.
"The scenario, as far as the SCBs' market share is concerned, has reversed over a decade," a senior BB official said, adding that the SCBs should take effective measures to utilize their branch network properly.
Currently, the SCBs have 3389 branches out of a total of 7019 bank branches across the country.
The SCBs are facing various difficulties including using modern technology for providing better services to their clients to retain their market share.
"We're trying to improve our services, which is very important to expand the business growth," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agrani Bank Limited Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed told BBN in Dhaka.
Nine foreign commercial banks (FCBs) held 8.0 percent of the industry assets in 2008, showing a declining trend by 0.2 percentage points over the previous year.
However, the share of assets of government-owned development finance institutions (DFIs) was 6.7 percent in 2008 against 7.3 percent in 2007, the BB data showed.
Total deposits of the banks in 2008 rose to BDT 2561.4 billion from BDT 2148.9 billion in 2007 showing an overall increase of 19.2 percent, according to the report.
The share of four SCBs - Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali - in deposits decreased from 32.6 percent in 2007 to 29.7 percent in 2008.
On the other hand, 30 PCBs' deposits in 2008 amounted to BDT 1450.7 billion or 56.6 percent of the total industry deposit against BDT 1150.2 billion or 53.5 per cent in 2007.
During the period, the FCBs' deposits rose by BDT 30.7 billion or 16.7 percent over the previous year. In 2008, the DFIs' deposits were BDT 137.8 billion against BDT 115.6 billion in 2007 showing an increase of 19.2 percent over the year.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-27January10-12:50 am (BST)