Premier Bank PLC is investing in building a robust digital infrastructure to make all financial services available at the fingertips of customers, said M Reazul Karim, managing director of the private commercial bank.

"We are embracing modern technologies so that we can satisfy all the digital needs of the customers," he said in an interview with The Daily Star recently.

The private commercial bank was set up in 1999 with the brand promise "Service First".

Despite operating in a highly competitive industry, it has emerged as a bank of people's choice over the last two decades, Karim said.

He said the list of milestones and achievements of the bank is long.

He cited the introduction of real-time online banking, the commencement of Islamic banking business and brokerage operation, the incorporation of Premier Securities, and the launch of agent banking, banking app PMONEY and the customer care centre.

The achievements helped the bank achieve the B1 rating from Moody's Investors Service, he said.

M Reazul Karim

Strong brand value, an experienced board, a pool of efficient human resources, a wide range of branches, sub-branches, agent banking outlets, ATM networks, products and services at competitive prices, and a strong financial position to meet liabilities are the core strengths of the bank, according to Karim.

"A high-quality credit rating and strict ethical and moral practices, raising the standard of customer service and operational efficiency, beefing up risk management and continuing digital transformation will be at the heart of strategies in the coming days."

He said Premier Bank has developed PMONEY to provide banking services digitally and to reflect customers' comfort.

Alongside an increased focus on boosting the digital infrastructure, it has expanded its footprints through the setting up of sub-branches, particularly in suburban areas.

He said Premier Bank is maintaining a well-diversified loan portfolio by extending project finance, SME loans, farm credits and home loans.

"A wide range of business, industrial, service and trade sectors constitute the bank's advanced portfolio. We have a significant number of ready-made garments clients both from domestic and off-shore circuits. This makes our loan portfolio different and diversified than our peers."

According to Karim, the post-pandemic challenges and the Russia-Ukraine war have taken their toll on the global economy as well as the economy of Bangladesh.

The supply chain, value chain and other underlying factors inhibited the growth of the business and industrial sectors, and made doing business difficult. As a result, borrowers are struggling to repay loans.

The bank's non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at Tk 1,278.99 crore at the end of June this year, up from Tk 626.43 crore a year ago, central bank data showed.

"We are hopeful that NPLs will reduce automatically once the economy overcomes the impact of the pandemic and the war," said Karim.

He said the bank is ensuring adequate collaterals against loans, carrying out feasibility studies of the projects before sanctioning loans, maintaining proper documentation, and putting in place strong monitoring.

Premier Bank has put an all-out effort to make considerable contributions to the asset-based bank's portfolio as it tries to reduce NPLs and keep the portfolio healthy.

"Our recovery team has stepped up its special recovery drive."

The bank recovered Tk 80 crore in 2022.

Karim also talked about the challenges the bank had faced over the years.

"In our journey to gain a strong foothold in this volatile and ever-changing financial terrain, we confronted challenges one after another."

He said staying resilient and vibrant in the competitive banking industry turned out to be a major challenge in the last couple of years as new banks entered the market.

Last year, the bank set new targets for the next four years as it plans to double its business and portfolio.

"The way our bank has progressed in the last five to six years in terms of creating infrastructure, including manpower, technology, and products, we have decided to take it to a more improved level."

"We have set a target to increase our market share significantly and we are planning a more wholesome business drive combining all of our business avenues."

"Besides, we are targeting to cover the unbanked population by widening our network."