City Bank becomes first bank in Bangladesh to win ITFC Award

City Bank has recently been awarded the ‘ITFC Trade Finance Deal of the Year’ from International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC),a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDBG) Group.

City Bank is the first bank to win this award among the ITFC partner banks for honouring the most outstanding Shariah compliant trade finance deal under ITFC trade finance line, according to a press release.

The award was given in recognition of the bank's effort to find a unique solution offered to its customers under an Islamic financing structure for the import of wheat at a time when the country was facing challenges in foreign currency liquidity due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mashrur Arefin, managing director and CEO of City Bank has received the award from Nazeem Noordali, ITFC’s chief operating officer at City Bank’s Head office.

Abdul Aleem, division manager- Asia & Middle East, Iftekhar Alam, regional manager - South & Southeast Asia of ITFC, Sheikh Muhammad Maroof and Md Mahbubur Rahman, both additional managing directors, and Hasan Sharif Ahmed, EVP & head of Financial Institutions of City Bank were also present at the occasion.

While thanking ITFC for the award, Mashrur Arefin said, ‘With the support of ITFC we can assist our customers smoothly and efficiently especially if they want to take trade facility under Islamic structure. It assists the bank to finance commercial and SME clients in importing raw materials & essential commodities under longer tenor financing option.’

Since 2019, City Bank has been availing trade finance facility from ITFC and now enjoying the highest limit provided to  aany commercial bank in Bangladesh.