Polaris takes core banking product to Bangladesh market

Polaris Software Ltd today forayed into Bangladesh market by launching a joint venture company along with Bangladesh-based public sector Bank Sonali Bank Ltd.

The joint venture partners have launched a new company which would implement Intellect Core Banking Solution of Polaris Software across Bangladesh.

The partners signed an MoU to form a joint venture company Sonali Polaris Financial Technology Ltd (SPFTL), in which Polaris will hold a 51 per cent stake and the rest would be held by Sonali Bank Ltd.

R Srikanth, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Polaris would license its product to the new JV company which in turn would sell it to customers within Bangladesh.

He noted there were 15 public sector banks and eight private sector banks in Bangladesh. To make these banks competitive, the country's banking regulator has asked these banks to increase their efficiency in form of automation, which opened market for IT companies in Bangladesh.

The end-to-end Intellect Core Banking Solution will allow the banks to run a single application for all its different functions, thereby facilitating easy operations for its customers.

The new company has already bagged two deals from Sonali Bank, which is the largest state-owned commercial bank in Bangladesh with 1,188 branches and operations in UK, USA, Middle East and India, and from Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd.