President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has presented plaques of appreciation to two founding members of the Bank of Maldives (BML).
At the gala dinner held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BML, President Solih presented the Awards of Honour to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Late Ismail Fathy for their pioneering initiatives and outstanding contribution to setting up and developing the bank. The awards were accepted by family members on behalf of the recipients. The president also presented special awards of commendation to Aishath Noordeen, Fathimath Manike, and Moosa Mohamed for having served BML for 40 years.
BML was inaugurated on November 11, 1982, by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom with assistance from Bangladesh’s International Finance and Investment Company Limited (IFIC), after three years of negotiations. Director of Finance Ismail Fathy was the senior government official leading the negotiations.
BML started commercial operations as a joint venture bank with 60% shares held by the government and 40% shares owned by IFIC. Following divestment by IFIC in 1992, the government assumed a majority shareholding. BML is now listed on the Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) with the government holding 62.2%, state-owned enterprises holding 4.1%, and the balance held by public shareholders.