President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Monday officially inaugurated the Commercial Bank of Maldives (CBM).
The new bank was officially opened at a function held at Hotel Jen in Male’ City.
The Commercial Bank of Maldives opened for business with a capital of MVR 150 million.
The Commercial Bank of Maldives is a joint-venture between Tree Top Investment Pvt. Ltd., and the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. Tree Top Investment holds a 45% stake in the new bank while the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. controls 55% of the shares.
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is amongst the top 1,000 banks in the world. It also operates in Bangladesh in Myanmar, in other countries in the Asia region.
Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) issued the banking licence to the Commercial Bank of Maldives Pvt. Ltd. in May this year.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Governor of MMA Dr. Azeema Adam spoke about the development of the country’s financial sector. She noted that lending by commercial banks had topped MVR 20 billion last year, which is a 16% increase compared to the previous year.
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of CBM Jegan Durairatnam said “they are aiming to provide the latest in banking services, including retail banking and corporate banking services.” He also revealed plans to expand CBM’s services to the atolls.
The function saw the handing over of account opening letters to the first five customers of the new bank.