Hanvit Bank previously known as Hanil Bank, is incorporated in the Republic of Korea in 1932. On 1 January 1999, it changed its name to Hanvit Bank after being merged with Commercial Bank of Korea. Hanil Bank started its banking business in Bangladesh on 21 September 1996 through opening a branch at dhaka. The bank obtained permission from bangladesh bank in 1997 to open an off-shore banking unit in Bangladesh.

At the beginning of its operations in Bangladesh, Hanvit Bank had an initial capital of Tk 105.72 million ($2.5 million). It also brought additional capital, equivalent of Tk 148.07 million as inward remittances from its head office in Korea to meet capital expenditures. The bank's total capital increased from Tk 253.83 million in 1996 to Tk 542.1 million in 2000.

The principal activities of the bank are to provide all kinds of commercial banking services to its customers in Bangladesh. Composite total deposits of the bank including those of the offshore banking unit amounted to Tk 375.4 million in December 2000. The deposits comprised savings deposits Tk 1.8 million, fixed deposits Tk 100.2 million, current deposits Tk 271.9 million, and other deposits Tk 1.5 million. Interest rate offered by the bank on its various types of deposits during 2000 varied between 6.5% and 9%.

Aggregate lending of the bank including bills purchased and discounted was Tk 207.6 million in 2000. The loans and advances were in the forms of overdrafts, cash credits, cash finances, trust receipts, packing credits, and other advances and loans for servicing imports and exports, trade and commerce, working capital, short and medium term loans to large, medium and small scale industrial units and for other purposes. Interest rates charged on those various types of credits varied between 10% and 14%. It had no classified loan up to 30 May 2001.

In 2000, the volume of foreign exchange business handled by the bank amounted to Tk 7,278 million which comprised export servicing Tk 2,010 million, import financing Tk 3,112 million and remittance services Tk 2,156 million. Its foreign exchange businesses were conducted mainly through its offshore unit in Dhaka and its 15 foreign correspondents.

Composite volume of assets of the bank's regular and offshore banking units were valued at Tk 1,186.9 million in 2000 excluding off-balance sheet items, which were Tk 1,519.1 million. Over the entire period of its operations in the country, the bank did not borrow from the inter-bank money market. In 2000, its total deposits with other banks in and outside Bangladesh were Tk 58.19 million. The bank started earning net profit in Bangladesh since 1998 and on 31 December 2000, its profits reached Tk 82.7 million.

The general manager appointed by its headquarters in Korea is the bank's chief executive officer in Bangladesh. He is assisted by a total of 25 employees in the regular and offshore units in Dhaka. [S M Mahfuzur Rahman]