ONE Bank
ONE Bank PLC is a Bangladeshi commercial bank providing deposit-taking, lending, payments, investment, and other financial services.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
ONE Bank PLC, commonly known as ONE Bank, is a public limited commercial bank based in Bangladesh. The bank began operations in May 1999 and operates within the country's regulated banking sector, taking deposits from individuals and organizations and deploying those funds through lending to multiple economic sectors. Its business model is based on the traditional spread between the cost of deposits and the income generated from loans and other financial services. The bank's activities have expanded beyond conventional branch banking. Its historical initiatives include participation in the conversion of paper share certificates into electronic holdings, investment in Vanik Bangladesh Limited, the later LankaBangla Finance, the launch of a mutual fund, and work to extend mobile banking through Bangladesh's Union Information and Service Centres. These activities reflect an effort to connect traditional banking with securities settlement, investment products, and technology-enabled financial access. ONE Bank has also experienced regulatory and governance developments. Bangladesh Bank dismissed managing director Mirza Ejaj Ahmed in 2003 over alleged links to Hundi accounts associated with Uttara Group of Industries and Doel Group. In 2007, the central bank warned the bank about the appointment of a former managing director as a consultant, stating that the arrangement violated banking rules. In 2020, Bangladesh Bank removed HRC Group chairman Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury from the chairmanship of ONE Bank in connection with loan delinquency involving Standard Bank. The bank subsequently received regulatory oversight through the appointment of a Bangladesh Bank observer in 2020. The institution has changed its legal name from One Bank Limited to ONE Bank PLC. Its publicly described leadership includes chairman A.S.M. Shahidullah Khan and managing director Shabbir Ahmed. The bank has also been led by other executives, including Farman R Chowdhury and Md Monzur Mofiz. In the early 2020s, the bank faced profitability pressure, reduced chief-executive compensation after a decline in profit, and continued attention to asset quality. In September 2022, it obtained an ISO certification relating to information security management. The available reference material does not establish a complete current branch network, ownership structure, product catalogue, or official website, so those details are left unspecified.
History
ONE Bank Limited began operating in Bangladesh in May 1999 as a commercial bank. Its core activity was the collection of deposits through savings and other schemes and the extension of loans to different sectors at a margin. The bank was governed by a board described in the reference material as consisting of six members, with later board arrangements including independent representation. The bank encountered an early regulatory setback in January 2003, when Bangladesh Bank removed managing director Mirza Ejaj Ahmed over alleged connections with Hundi accounts linked to Uttara Group of Industries and Doel Group. The episode placed the bank within the broader regulatory environment governing foreign-exchange and informal money-transfer practices in Bangladesh. In November 2004, ONE Bank signed an agreement with Central Depository Bangladesh Limited to support the conversion of paper shares into electronic shares. Around the same period, it invested BDT 40 million in Vanik Bangladesh Limited. Vanik was subsequently renamed LankaBangla Finance Limited. The venture had been established by Vanik Incorporation Limited of Sri Lanka together with Bangladeshi partners, including Sampath Bank and Chinkara Capital of Singapore. This investment connected ONE Bank with the development of Bangladesh's financial-services and securities ecosystem beyond ordinary commercial banking. In September 2007, Bangladesh Bank warned ONE Bank over the appointment of a former managing director as a consultant, reportedly because the arrangement contravened banking rules. The following year, the bank decided to raise its authorized capital to BDT 5 billion in response to Bangladesh Bank instructions directed at banks generally. In June 2009, it launched a mutual fund with a stated value of BDT 1 billion, adding an investment-oriented product to its financial-services activities. Technology and financial inclusion became more visible in the bank's activities during the 2010s. In 2012, managing director Farman R Chowdhury signed an agreement with officials from Bangladesh's Local Government Division and the Digital Bangladesh program to establish mobile banking through 4,501 Union Information and Service Centres. The initiative was intended to extend access to banking services through a distributed network of local information centres. The bank's shares declined in February 2016, although the available reference does not provide a quantified market-price movement or an explanation for it. Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury was reelected chairman in June 2018 and again in August 2019. In September 2019, ONE Bank announced plans to issue bonds valued at BDT 4 billion. In 2020, governance and credit-quality concerns became central. Bangladesh Bank removed Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury from the chairmanship after citing loan delinquency involving a Standard Bank loan. The reference also reports that the bank had BDT 19.54 billion in bad loans, representing 9.63 percent of total loans at the time. In November of that year, Bangladesh Bank appointed Md Shazzad Hossoin as an observer at ONE Bank. The bank continued to change its senior management. Zahur Ullah was appointed vice-chairman in the period described by the source, and Md Monzur Mofiz became managing director on 23 December 2021. The bank reduced chief-executive compensation after profit declined in 2021. In September 2022, it obtained an ISO certification related to information security management. In 2023, it adopted the legal name ONE Bank PLC. The available material identifies A.S.M. Shahidullah Khan as chairman and Shabbir Ahmed as managing director, but does not provide a complete current organizational structure or detailed account of the bank's present operations.
- 2023
Legal-name change
[1]One Bank Limited changed its legal name to ONE Bank PLC.
- 2022
Information-security certification
[1]The bank received ISO certification relating to information security management.
- 2021
New managing director appointed
[1]Md Monzur Mofiz was appointed managing director on 23 December 2021.
- 2020
Chairman removed and regulatory observer appointed
[1]Bangladesh Bank removed chairman Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury and later appointed an observer to the bank.
- 2019
Bond issue announced
[1]ONE Bank announced plans to launch bonds valued at BDT 4 billion.
- 2012
Mobile-banking expansion initiative
[1]The bank entered an agreement to establish mobile banking at 4,501 Union Information and Service Centres.
- 2009
Mutual fund launched
[1]ONE Bank launched a mutual fund reported as having a value of BDT 1 billion.
- 2004
Electronic share conversion agreement
[1]The bank signed an agreement with Central Depository Bangladesh Limited to convert paper shares into electronic shares.
- 2003
Managing director dismissed by the central bank
[1]Bangladesh Bank dismissed Mirza Ejaj Ahmed over alleged links to Hundi accounts associated with two business groups.
- 1999
Operations begin in Bangladesh
[1]ONE Bank Limited commenced commercial banking activities in Bangladesh in May 1999.
Products and positioning
A Bangladesh-focused full-service commercial bank combining conventional deposit and lending operations with payments, investment, and technology-enabled financial access.
Retail banking · 1999
Deposit and savings schemes
The bank's foundational retail activity is taking deposits from the public through savings schemes and other deposit products. These deposits provide funding for the bank's lending operations and form the conventional commercial-banking relationship between ONE Bank and its individual or institutional customers.
Commercial banking · 1999
Commercial and sector-based lending
ONE Bank lends deposited funds to multiple sectors of the Bangladeshi economy. The available reference describes lending as a central business activity but does not provide a complete sector breakdown, loan catalogue, or current pricing structure.
Digital banking · 2012
Mobile banking services
In 2012, the bank pursued a mobile-banking initiative through 4,501 Union Information and Service Centres. The program was associated with Bangladesh's Digital Bangladesh agenda and was intended to broaden access to financial services outside conventional branches.
Investment services · 2009
Mutual fund
ONE Bank launched a mutual fund in June 2009. The reference material describes the fund as having a value of BDT 1 billion, but does not identify its current status, investment mandate, or continuing relationship with the bank.
Securities services · 2004
Securities depository services
The bank signed an agreement with Central Depository Bangladesh Limited in 2004 to support the conversion of paper shares into electronic shares. This represented participation in the modernization of Bangladesh's securities-settlement infrastructure.
Controversies
2020
Chairman removed amid loan-delinquency concerns
Bangladesh Bank removed HRC Group chairman Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury as ONE Bank chairman in connection with delinquency on a Standard Bank loan. The same period was associated with reported concern over the bank's bad-loan level.
2007
Regulatory warning over former executive consultancy
Bangladesh Bank warned ONE Bank after it hired a former managing director as a consultant, an arrangement the regulator considered inconsistent with banking rules.
2003
Dismissal of managing director over alleged Hundi links
Bangladesh Bank dismissed managing director Mirza Ejaj Ahmed after alleging that he had links with Hundi accounts associated with Uttara Group of Industries and Doel Group.
Brand decisions
2021
Reduction in chief-executive compensationStrategyBackground
The bank reported a decline in profit in 2021.
Action taken
ONE Bank reduced chief-executive pay.
2019
Bond financing planStrategyBackground
The bank announced a plan to raise funding through a bond issue.
Action taken
ONE Bank announced bonds valued at BDT 4 billion.
Announced bond value. BDT 4 billion (September 2019)
2012
Expansion of mobile banking accessStrategyBackground
The bank sought to extend banking access through Bangladesh's local information-service infrastructure.
Action taken
ONE Bank agreed to establish mobile banking at 4,501 Union Information and Service Centres.
2008
Authorized-capital increaseStrategyBackground
Bangladesh Bank directed banks to increase their authorized capital.
Action taken
ONE Bank decided to increase its authorized capital to BDT 5 billion.
Authorized capital. BDT 5 billion (2008)
Recent events
Sterling Bank introduces OneBank app[2]
Reported:
Sterling Bank said it had introduced OneBank, a banking application for customers’ banking and payment transactions.
Sources2 sources
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