Commercial Bank of Ceylon Announces Islamic Banking in Bangladesh

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC announced it would inaugurate Islamic banking operations in Bangladesh on August 23, 2026, according to The Business Standard, which cited a company press release. The Sri Lankan bank said Deputy Chairman Raja Senanayake and Global Managing Director Sanath Manatunge would travel to Dhaka for the launch.

Executives Due in Dhaka for the Launch

The Business Standard reported on August 22, 2026 that Senanayake and Manatunge would arrive in Dhaka that day, ahead of an inauguration set for the following day. The Financial Express separately reported the pair’s arrival, describing the visit as a moment of consequence for the bank’s expansion and its continued investment in Bangladesh. Statements from the bank carried by both outlets said the new offering answers shifting financial needs among customers in Bangladesh by pairing Shariah-compliant products with the bank’s international experience, and cast the move as part of a wider turn toward ethical, values-driven finance in the country.

Beyond the inauguration itself, the two executives were set to sit down with clients, industry figures, and business partners, The Business Standard reported. Those meetings were meant to deepen existing relationships, gauge what the market offers, and scope out possible places to put fresh investment in the country, according to the outlet.

A Bangladesh Footprint Going Back to 2003

Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s presence in Bangladesh predates the Islamic banking plan by more than two decades. The bank entered the market in November 2003 by buying the local banking business of Credit Agricole Indosuez, starting with two branches and two booths, according to the bank’s own website. Its Bangladesh operations have been rated AAA by CRISL for 11 consecutive years, the same website says. The parent company is supervised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and carries a Fitch rating of AA-(lka), per the bank’s site.

The Chief Executive’s Case for Expanding

The move wasn’t a surprise. In an April 10, 2026 interview with The Financial Express’s Siddique Islam, Najith Meewanage, chief executive officer of Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s Bangladesh operations, described the bank’s strategy in the country as twofold: strengthening ties with clients it already has, while selectively entering high-potential segments. Shariah-compliant banking, he said in that interview, was a key milestone on the bank’s horizon. He didn’t give a timetable for it.

Meewanage pointed to the country’s economic fundamentals, its young population, and its growing part in international trade, according to the same interview. He also said the bank’s non-performing loan ratio sat below 1.0 percent, and that its Capital-to-Risk Weighted Asset Ratio stood well above 50 percent against a regulatory requirement of 12.50 percent, citing what he described as a consistent AAA credit rating. Those figures are the chief executive’s own, as given in that interview.

Islamic Windows at Conventional Banks Gain Ground

The planned launch lands in a market the central bank is watching closely. Bangladesh Bank’s quarterly report put Islamic banking deposits at Tk 4.79 lakh crore at the end of March 2026, against Tk 4.42 lakh crore twelve months before, a rise of 8.35 percent, as reported by The Daily Star. That was more than ten times the 0.8 percent gain logged a year earlier, the report found.

Even so, the country’s 10 full-fledged Islamic banks saw their combined share of total banking deposits slip to 23.62 percent from 24.36 percent over the same span, per The Daily Star. Bangladesh Bank said in the report that the Islamic branches and windows conventional lenders run also hold a considerable portion of deposits, which it treated as a sign of sharpening competition in the market. Commercial Bank of Ceylon is a conventional bank, and the Bangladesh offering it has announced is a Shariah-compliant one. The central bank’s report doesn’t name Commercial Bank of Ceylon. The Halal Times has reported separately on Bangladesh’s Islamic banking sector and on Shariah audit governance within it.

In the same report, Bangladesh Bank said the use of genuine profit-and-loss sharing structures, Musharaka and Mudaraba among them, was very low, and it urged Islamic banks to give those methods greater priority and to build products that draw more of the unbanked into the financial system, according to The Daily Star. The central bank also recommended that Islamic banks expand in rural areas and lend more to agriculture and small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Commercial Bank of Ceylon launching Islamic banking in Bangladesh?

The bank announced an inauguration date of August 23, 2026, according to The Business Standard’s August 22, 2026 report, which cited a company press release.

Who is leading Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s Islamic banking push in Bangladesh?

Deputy Chairman Raja Senanayake and Global Managing Director Sanath Manatunge were due in Dhaka for the inauguration, per The Business Standard. Najith Meewanage is chief executive officer of the bank’s Bangladesh operations, according to The Financial Express.

How long has Commercial Bank of Ceylon operated in Bangladesh?

Since November 2003, when it bought the local banking business of Credit Agricole Indosuez and began with two branches and two booths, according to the bank’s website.

How big is Islamic banking in Bangladesh?

Deposits reached Tk 4.79 lakh crore at the end of March 2026, an 8.35 percent rise year on year, while the 10 full-fledged Islamic banks held 23.62 percent of total banking deposits, according to Bangladesh Bank’s quarterly report as reported by The Daily Star.

What does Bangladesh Bank want Islamic banks to do differently?

The central bank said the use of genuine profit-and-loss sharing structures, Musharaka and Mudaraba among them, was very low, and it called on banks to give them greater priority, expand in rural areas, and lend more to agriculture and small businesses, per The Daily Star’s report on the quarterly report.