Photo : Messenger
Bangladesh Bank has initiated the opening of school bank accounts to spark interest among school students in savings, resulting in the opening of more than 40 lakh accounts since the commencement of the programme in 2010.
Leading the way in opening these accounts are five banks in the country. The private sector Dutch-Bangla Bank boasts the highest number of accounts, holding 23 percent of the total accounts and 24 percent of the total deposits. This information is derived from the latest updated report provided by Bangladesh Bank.
According to the report, the state-owned Agrani Bank holds the third position among the top 5 banks. Bank Asia and Rupali Bank Plc are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. A total of 59 banks in the country manage school student accounts, amounting to a total of 40,44,954 bank accounts with deposits totalling Tk. 2292 crores. State-owned banks account for 72 percent of these deposits, while private banks hold the remaining 28 percent. However, private-sector commercial banks are leading in account openings.
Dutch-Bangla Bank, the leader in opening accounts, boasts 944,710 school student accounts, constituting 23.36 percent of the total. The total deposits in this bank account for 34.32 percent of the overall deposits, amounting to Tk 557 crore. Islami Bank, in the second position, has 660,701 accounts, while Agrani Bank in the third position has 307,392 accounts. Bank Asia, in the fourth position, manages 234,733 accounts, and the state-owned Rupali Bank, the last in the top five, has 228,123 bank accounts.
The Dhaka division is the most advanced in terms of area, with a total of 944,250 school student accounts and deposits amounting to Tk 973.48 crore. Chattogram division follows in the second position, with 876,459 school accounts and deposits of Tk 528.43 crore. The Rajshahi division, in the third position, has 558,256 accounts and 197.32 crore takas in deposits. Of the total accounts, 44.76 percent are from urban areas, and the remaining 55.24 percent are from remote areas. Among these accounts, 51.15 percent belong to students, and the remaining 48.85 percent are female accounts.
On this matter, one of the top officials of the Bangladesh Bank, seeking anonymity, told The Daily Messenger, “School Banking is one of the most significant financial inclusion innovations by Bangladesh Bank. The programme was initiated to develop the saving behaviour of students at an early age. This programme introduces banking services and modern banking technologies to students below 18 years of age. Bangladesh Bank issued Directive 5 for the banks to introduce School Banking in November 2010 and later framed a comprehensive policy in October 2013. These policies precede Directive 7, which instructs banks to convert School Banking Accounts (SBAs) to general savings accounts once the students reach the age of 18 years (subject to the consent of the account holder).”
Furthermore, he mentioned, “In light of the existing School Banking policies, banks can open student accounts with a minimum deposit of Tk. 100 with no service charges. Moreover, these accounts offer attractive interest rates, debit card facilities, and financial education programmes. Out of the 61 banks operating in Bangladesh, 59 are currently offering school banking services. The number of SBAs has reached 4,044,954 in this quarter, 1.97% higher than that of the previous quarter. Year-to-year comparison has also shown significant growth in School Banking activities, with the number of SBAs increasing by 25.72% in the September 2023 quarter compared to the same period in 2022. Scheduled banks have been resuming school banking conferences since November 2022 across the country, contributing to the augmentation of school banking activities.”
Messenger/Disha
