Ali Reza Iftekhar wins 'Best Banking CEO of the Year' award by WBO

Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director and CEO of Eastern Bank Limited (EBL), has been awarded the prestigious 'Best Banking CEO of the Year', Bangladesh 2022 by the Singapore-based business magazine World Business Outlook (WBO), reads a press release.

Terming Ali Reza Iftekhar an avid promoter of sustainable development of Bangladesh's economy, the business magazine acknowledged him for his role in the all-round performance of EBL in 2020-21.

"It is our honour to adorn Mr Ali Reza Iftekhar with the title. He is popularly considered the longest-serving managing director of the banking industry in Bangladesh," said Ujal Nair, editor of World Business Outlook in the felicitation note.

"He is credited for introducing international best practices and ethical banking at EBL. He transformed EBL into a leading financial brand in Bangladesh," he added.

In his acceptance message, Ali Reza Iftekhar said, "EBL's key regulatory ratios in 2021 clearly show our commitment to stakeholders. I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to the Chairman of the Board of Directors for his sagacity and stewardship and the entire Board of Directors for their invaluable feedback, continued support, and trust in me and my team."

He further said, "Our aim is to leverage the combined strengths in the banking sector to offer holistic and seamless solutions across business segments."

Ali Reza Iftekhar has been in the banking sector for the past 37 years. Since 2007 he has been serving as the managing director and the CEO of EBL. He also served as the president of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) for two terms 2014-15 and 2020-21.