IDLC Managing Director Arif Khan resigns  

Arif Khan, managing director and chief executive officer of IDLC Finance, the largest non-bank financial institution in the country, resigned from his post on Sunday.

The resignation will be effective after approval from the board.

Confirming his resignation, Arif told The Business Standard he had been planning for long to start his own business. 

Sharing his business plan, Arif said he would start a share market-related venture.

"Now I have the capacity to start my own business and I do not want to be the chief executive officer of IDLC anymore," he said.

He added that he had voluntarily resigned for a fresh start. 

Arif spent 20 years of his 30-year career at IDLC, which became the most profit-making institution among non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) under his leadership.

Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, IDLC made the highest profit of Tk253 crore in its 35-year history. The pandemic could not affect its dividend either as the company declared 35% cash dividend for last year, which was the same in the previous year.

The company has been maintaining a mere 2-3% default loan ratio for the last five years even after lending at higher rates.

The average non-performing loan ratio in the NBFI industry was above 9% last year, while that in the banking sector was over 10%.

Arif joined IDLC as an assistant manager and was promoted to the post of deputy managing director before joining the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) as a commissioner in 2011.

After serving the BSEC for five years, he returned to IDLC as its managing director.

During his tenure at the BSEC, he played a key role in the demutualisation of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the formulation of alternative investment rules, and the amendment to the corporate governance guidelines.