Unhappy clients closed 1.6 million bank accounts in 2017 in Bangladesh: BIBM

The Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management or BIBM says at least 1.6 million bank accounts have been closed in a year by disgruntled clients in Bangladesh.

The findings were presented at a seminar in Dhaka on Thursday amid intense discussions about irregularities and corruption dogging the banking sector.

Clients closed a total of 1,652,881 accounts for the lack of satisfaction in 2017, which is 12 percent of total bank accounts, according to the research. 

Earlier, 8.60 percent of clients closed their accounts for the same reason in 2014.

The number of closures increased gradually over the next years, and the figure accounted for 9.42 percent in 2015 and 11.64 percent in 2016.

Discussants made various recommendations at the seminar titled ‘Sustainability in service quality and customer’s conformity: Drivers of custom’s loyalty to Banks’ to regain customer’s trust.

Dr Mohammad Tazul Islam, an associate professor of BIBM, who presented the keynote, said customers continued to close their accounts but the banks neither interviewed them nor did they keep track records of 56 percent of these clients.

He recommended finding the reasons behind the customers closing their accounts to prevent  a recurrence.

BIBM Chair and former Dhaka University economics teacher Prof Barkat-e-Khuda said customer’s satisfaction is one of the keys to achieving success and the banks must also follow this principle.

Customers allege a large amount of bank officials do not behave well with them.

Former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled said bank executives need basic training on how to behave with customers.