Making home finance more accessible Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC.

Md. Ahteshamul Haque Khan
Managing Director & CEO
Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC.

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“Greater digitisation, improved documentation infrastructure and faster property verification would help reduce barriers to formal home finance.”

Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC is working to expand home finance through longer repayment tenures, competitive pricing and increasingly digital loan processing. Md. Ahteshamul Haque Khan, Managing Director & CEO of Dutch-Bangla Bank, says documentation gaps, property verification and limited formal income records remain particular obstacles outside major cities.

The Daily Star (TDS): What are the main barriers preventing buyers from accessing formal home finance?

Md. Ahteshamul Haque Khan (MAHK): Housing demand is high, but financing in semi-urban areas faces several challenges. Approved building plans may be unavailable, while many borrowers depend on informal business or rental income that is not adequately reflected in bank statements. Lower rental income in these areas can also make monthly instalments difficult to manage.

TDS: What home-finance products and repayment options does DBBL provide?

MAHK: DBBL offers financing for purchasing new or existing houses and flats, construction or extension, renovation and alteration, and takeover of existing home loans from other banks or financial institutions.

Repayment tenures extend up to 25 years, subject to customer eligibility and prevailing policies. A longer tenure can reduce monthly instalment pressure and align repayments more closely with customers’ income capacity.

TDS: How are you supporting first-time buyers and female applicants?

MAHK: Our home-finance facilities are available to eligible customers under prevailing product and credit policies, with competitive pricing intended to serve a broad range of borrowers.

During campaigns, we have also offered special pricing with an interest rate fixed for the entire loan tenor, which we believe is a first in Bangladesh.

TDS: How is digitalisation helping reduce loan-processing time?

MAHK: We have implemented a Document Management System for end-to-end retail-loan processing, from submission through disbursement. It reduces reliance on physical documentation and allows authorised stakeholders to maintain and access documents digitally.

TDS: What policy changes could expand formal home finance?

MAHK: Digitised and centrally accessible land and mortgage records, faster and standardised title verification and registration, and greater consistency in property valuation would remove significant barriers.

Reducing transaction costs and processing time, alongside stronger financial literacy, will also require coordinated efforts among banks, regulators, land authorities, developers and other stakeholders.