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INTRODUCTION
Internship is an agreement between an university and an organization that provides an
opportunity for a student to work in an organization for a temporary period of time, so
that he/she can get a real life experience about the corporate life. This internship report is
based on the Prospect Of Merchant Banks In Bangladesh and the report was
prepared from the prospect of a newest investment in recent times, BRAC EPL
Investments Ltd. While working on the main topic of the project additional research
was also done about the organization. The growth analysis and the SWOT analysis was
also prepared. Based on the work experience in BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. it was easy
to comment that it was the fastest growing investment bank in Bangladesh and the details
will be discussed later on the report, and it also represents the prospects of Merchant
Banks in Bangladesh.

In order to strengthen the capital market of Bangladesh the newest initiative of the
government and the regulatory bodies has been to promote merchant banking. The capital
market of Bangladesh has yet to find a solid ground and the investor confidence in the
market is not significantly high, especially after the stock market crash in 1996.
Observing the poor performance of the market over the years the government has taken
initiatives to reform the market. One of such step is to allow banks and financial
institutions offering other financial and banking services to open up their merchant
banking wing.
Since merchant banking is a quite new concept in financial system in Bangladesh and
significantly differs with traditional banking, there is lot of scopes to explore and develop
the industry. At the same time for financing larger investments, investors need to know
the functions and usefulness of merchant banking. General investors also can be
benefited investing through merchant banking service like portfolio management.
Although merchant banks are not providing all range of service that they can do, but day
by day they are enlarging their service area in the capital market of Bangladesh
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BRACEPL is a new name in Bangladeshi investment


environment. Their main dream is to bring a revolutionary change in the investment
atmosphere, it is the subsidiary of BRAC Bank. It has an established brand image among
the Bangladeshi people so we can assume that by using the Brand image and the service
quality we can win the investment market. To obtain that dream BRACEPL started their
journey on February 2010. BRACEPL got their license on 17 th February 2010. It is
mentionable that BRACEPL has already a dedicated team to win the market.
Objective of the Study:
Finding the Organizations Mission, Vision and strategy
Analysis of the organization
Analysis of CSD (Customer Service Department)
Discuss the growth and the future prospect of the organization
Discuss the prospect of Merchant Banks in Bangladesh
Discuss the Importance of Merchant Banks
Discuss 10 cases that happened during the internship period
Recommendation to the organization
Significance of the study
This report will be very helpful to many individuals including students studying in
Finance as they will get to know about the future of Investments Banking in Bangladesh.
then it will be helpful to employers and employees as they will also get an idea about the
sector. Managements as they will get to learn about the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunity and the threats that the organization will face during the operation. General
investors in the stock market.

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The topic is significant for the student as he will be able to


understand the gap between classroom learning and actual
job conditions. During the course of the study, the student will get the opportunity to
know how the stock market works. Therefore, this report will stand as a supporting
document that the student can show to prove his knowledge and skills on the topic. Then
the student can also use this experience to work in any other financial institution in
future.
This report also includes a SWOT analysis of BRAC EPL Investments, stating the
strengths and weakness and the opportunities that they can aim for in the market and the
threats that they presently face and also the future threats.
Expected Findings and Hypothesis
As this is a new organization, one of the main findings that was expected to seek out was
the prospect/demand of merchant banks in Bangladesh. It could be further narrowed
down to the point that do people really like to enjoy margin loan facility while they
trade. The growth of BRAC EPL Investments Ltd and the all their accomplishments will
later prove the point. In the process it is also intended to find some other useful
information about the organization like the strategy that they are following, their goals,
organizational structure, future plans, their SWOT analysis, etc.
Moreover, as required in the Internship course outline, it is also required to give at least
10 Case Studies where it is needed to mention about some events/incidents of the
organization. Here, a brief description about the incident will be given stating whether it
was a happy or a problematic situation, how it was solved, the persons involved, how it
was solved, the functional & financial impact on the company and finally
Recommendation.

Vision
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As BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. is a Subsidy of BRAC


Bank, it shares the same corporate vision: Building profitable and socially responsible
financial institution focused on Market and Business with Growth potential, thereby
assisting BRAC and stakeholders to build a just, enlightened, healthy democratic and
poverty free Bangladesh.
But even after that BRAC EPL Investments Ltd has a vision of its own: To be the
Number 1 Investment Bank in Bangladesh

Mission
To assist in bringing high quality service to our customers and to participate in the growth
and expansion of our national economy. To set high standards of integrity and bring total
satisfaction to our clients, shareholders and employees. To become the most sought after
Investment Bank in the country and to reach all prospective clients throughout
Bangladesh.
Core Values
Our Strength emanates from our owner - BRAC. This means, we will hold the following
values and will be guided by BRAC as we do our work.
Value the fact that one is a member of the BRAC family
Creating an honest, open and enabling environment
Have a strong customer focus and build relationships based on integraty,
superior service and mutual benefit
Strive for profit & sound growth
Work as team to serve the best interest of our owners
Relentless in pursuit of business innovation and improvement
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Value and respect people and make


decisions based on merit
Base recognition and reward on performance
Responsible, trustworthy and law-abiding in all that we do.
Overview of the Company
BRAC EPL Investments Limited and BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited are two
premier members of the Bangladesh capital markets. On top of our expertise and
achievements, we take pride in our strong commitment toward the development of the
Bangladesh capital markets. We have unwavering faith in the potential of Bangladesh.
We also believe that an efficient, vibrant and transparent capital market shall strongly
contribute to the overall development of Bangladesh. The two companies commenced
operation in their present state in October 2009. The predecessors of these companies
were known as Equity Partners Limited (EPL) and Equity Partners Securities Ltd
(EPSL). respectively. EPL and EPSL were established in 2000. EPL as a merchant bank
established itself in offering novelty initial and secondary offerings, including many
first and largest offerings. EPSL has been particularly successful in attracting foreign
portfolio investment and transacted in excess of 80% of all foreign portfolio investment
in Bangladesh. These companies are part of an international network of brokers that
provide trading and research services to fund managers focused on emerging markets.
BRAC Bank acquired 51% of both the companies in 2009. BRAC Bank is one of the
fastest growing banks in Bangladesh. A member of BRAC Enterprises, the Bank operates
under a "double bottom line" agenda where profit and social responsibility go together as
it strives towards a poverty-free, enlightened Bangladesh.

Product and Services (BRAC EPL INVESTMENTS)

Background
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Since inception, BRAC EPL has achieved an unparalleled


reputation as a leading local provider of brokerage and financial advisory services by
maintaining a high level of professional expertise and integrity in its client relationships.
BRAC EPL focuses on a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, food,
broadcasting, building materials, technology and communications. The firm seeks
engagements with well-managed companies that exhibit a sustainable competitive
advantage.
BRAC EPL delivers a whole range of Investment Banking services including traditional
merchant banking activities such as Issue Management, Underwriting, Portfolio
Management and Structured Finance solutions. BRAC EPL also provides value-added
services such as Wealth Management, Corporate Advisory and Corporate Finance. The
institution offers investment services to non-residential Bangladeshis (NRB) as well.

Merchant Banking Division

Portfolio
Management

Issue Management

IPO Mgt.

Rights/Debt

Underwriting

Non-Discretionary

Cap Invest

Discretionary A/C

Managed Cap Invest

Scope of Services:
1. Capital Markets: The Capital Markets group at BRAC EPL is responsible for
providing equities research and conducting wealth management business.
Equity Research: Thorough. Actionable. Conviction.
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Wealth Management: Patient. Informed.


Long-term Focus.

2. Portfolio Management: BRAC EPL has a team of highly dedicated and competent
professionals who provide high quality service and manage Clients portfolios.
BRAC EPL places the interests of the Client before its own and it has espoused elevated
standards of professional conduct to safeguard the interest of its Clients. BRAC EPL
brings a depth and breadth of knowledge of the Bangladesh capital market that is
unmatched by any other merchant bank. BRAC EPL has largely invested in technological
infrastructure for efficient order processing and administering the investments of the
Clients. BRAC EPL is also continually striving to enhance its IT facilities to benefit the
Clients. We offer portfolio management through the following accounts:
a) Cap Edge Non-Discretionary Portfolio Account: Cap Edge is a dynamic
investment account that provides investors with the entire range of nondiscretionary portfolio management services including:
b) MCE Managed Cap Edge: To be introduced shortly.

3. Investment Banking:
The Investment Banking team at BRAC EPL consists of professionals with expertise in
the equity and debt capital markets, providing issue management, structured finance and
corporate advisory services to clients. We offer services in the following arena:
Issue Management and Underwriting of Public Offering
We provide issue management and underwriting services forInitial Public Offering (IPO)
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Repeat Public Offering (RPO)


Rights Issue
Direct Listing, etc.
Our issue management services include/ cover:
Capital Restructuring
Structuring the size of the public offer
Determine issue price
Valuation of the Issuer Company using various techniques of financial
modeling
Assist in the preparation of relevant documents for public offer
Facilitate Private Placement
Co-ordinate the work of other professionals, i.e. lawyers, credit rating
agencies and accounting firms
Ensure compliance with the regulatory authorities
Liaising with the regulatory authorities on all issues regarding the public
offer
Arranging bankers to the issue
Arranging the underwriting syndication
Structured Finance and Corporate Advisory
BRAC EPL, with its depth of understanding of the Bangladesh Debt Capital
Market- Evolution, Regulations & Regulatory bodies, Relationship with
Intermediaries and investors, has developed a unique capability to help companies
execute their project financing and debt strategies. Members of the BRAC EPL
Structured Finance team have been credited with pioneering unique and
innovative transactions.
Our wide range of advisory services in this domain includes:
Advising corporations, institutions and sovereign entities on the structure
of new debt issues and the refinancing of existing obligations
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Advising on debt market opportunities and


conditions
Arming our clients for negotiations with bankers and investors
Sharing our knowledge of the range of potential financiers, their appetite
and their attitude to credit, pricing and structure
We have the expertise to raise debt and quasi equity through:

Preference shares

Loan syndication

Corporate bonds

Redeemable bonds

Convertibles and equity linked products

Asset-backed securitization

Private equity
In the recent years, alternative investment asset classes such as private equity
have become increasingly important pools of capital in the global financial
system. BRAC EPL believes that Bangladeshi companies and entrepreneurs are
now willing to take the next step and accept private equity as a means of
financing.

With

economic

fundamentals

improving,

improved

political

environment due to the recent steps taken by the government, regulatory


framework evolving and open dialogues between private and public sectors taking
place, this seems to be a good time for private equity investors to look out for
opportunities. We provide the following services in this regard:
Formulating business plans
Conducting due diligence
Attracting and selecting investors
Providing legal and institutional support
Debt restructuring
Creating project documents

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Mergers and Acquisitions


BRAC

EPL

acts

as

an

intermediary

for

Bangladeshi/offshore investment and joint-venture transactions, aligning the goals


of those who seek and provide investment and joint-venture opportunities in
Bangladesh.
Our research programs are adept at identifying prospective M&A opportunities,
particularly Bangladeshi family-run businesses, non-core businesses within a
range of companies, and under-performing public companies. As the buyer's
agent, BRAC EPL assists with the development of a bidding strategy, identifies
appropriate opportunities and handles due diligence, negotiations and closing.
As the seller's agent, BRAC EPL typically prepares a detailed information
package, organizes on-site inspections, conducts presentations to prospective
investors and over-sees negotiations. BRAC EPL's knowledge of the markets it
serves, combined with thorough analysis and documentation, enables the firm to
provide clients with the best available information on which to base merger and
acquisition decisions.
Portfolio Management Department
As an intern I was assigned to work on the Customer Service Department (CSD) of
Portfolio Management Department (PMD). In the Initial stage I was only assigned to the
Customer Service Department, later during the job rotation I was taught the basic of all
the other departments, including accounts, settlement, trade and sales and branch
operation. But my primary job responsibility remained at the Customer Service
Department. The main product of PMD to till date is the product called the CAP
EDGE. The description of the Product is as follows:
"Cap Edge" Non-Discretionary Portfolio Account

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I)

Cap Edge Non-Discretionary Portfolio Account: Cap

Edge is a dynamic investment account that provides


investors with the entire range of non-discretionary portfolio management services
including:
Minimum balance requirement to start Portfolio Investment Account. (It has one
of the minimum initial deposits in the current market, Taka 1 Lac Only)
Loan Interest and Management Fees are very competitive.
Efficient execution of trades. (Spacious trading floors were designed in every
branch for the comfort of the clients and a strong tele-trading facility was
established so that the clients could trade via phone)
Extension of margin loan enabling the investors to earn enhanced return.
Collecting dividend and bonus shares on behalf of clients.
Subscription of the rights issues.
Completion of dematerialization process.
Keeping the securities in safe custody.
Major Features of Cap Edge:
Cap Edge Clients shall have absolute discretionary power to make investment
decisions.
The Portfolio Manager shall provide all support for efficient execution of trades.
Clients will be allowed to invest only in the vigilantly selected securities
approved by the Portfolio Manager.
Fund Transfer facility in case of the same Bank Account of the Portfolio Manager
will be in place.
Facilities for the Clients to enhance their return on investments through
leveraging, the Portfolio Manager will extend margin loan to the Clients.
All the securities purchased for the Clients shall remain in lien in favor of the
Portfolio Manager.

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The Clients will have access to the various research


materials on market, industry and companies
prepared by the independent research team of the Portfolio Manager.
Investment in Cap Edge will be considered as allowable investment for obtaining
tax rebate. In addition, capital gains from investments are entirely tax-exempted.
Daily portfolio statements will be provided through e-mail.
Facilities of order submission through phone, e-mail, sms and fax.

Department Overview

PMD (Portfolio Management Department)


PMD of BRACEPL is being lead by the mostly experienced person from the investment
market Mr. Mesbah Uddin Khan. The PMD is further broken down to the following
subdivisions such as Accounting, Sales & Trading, Technical Analysis and last but not the
least customer services deptartment. Customer service department is the only department
that faces the customer directly and they are representing the organizations effectiveness
as well as reputation. As an intern I was assigned to work as a Customer Service
Department (CSD) in the Portfolio Management Department. The Portfolio Management
Department is the most promising department of BRAC EPL. The graph below shows the
progress it made in the fist three months.

In

the

first three months of operation the total Asset under management crossed over
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1200000000 (120 Corer). The growth is tremendous and in


the recent months it did not slow down.
And day by day the transaction volume for BRAC EPL Investments incrased
dramatically. Each day we were breaking our old recod. The daily trade volume crossed
from few lakhs to 40 corer by the end of three months. And now the daily average trade
volume exists between 30-40 corer. The graph below shows the trade volume of the first
three months.

As the Asset Under Management increased and so did the Daily Transaction volume it all
eventually lead to the increase of Daily Income. The graph below shows how the profit
increased from a few thousand per day to over 5-10 lacs per day.

The treasury department helped out the Portfolio Management team more then any other
departments. All the loans that were disbursed to the clients of the PMD, the loan was
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managed and collected by the treasury department. The


figure below shows about the funds that were disbursed to
the clients and the funds that were still available to be given as loan to the clients.

Details

Apr 2010

May 2010

Total funded

2,300,000,000

Facilities
Total funds
disbursed

Total

60,000,000

Total available
facility

200,000,000

260,000,000

2,100,000,000

As we can see from the figures above, that even after our rapid growth, BRAC EPL has
still enough funds to last for few more years and to support the clients with loan facilities
over the period of time. Even after the remaining funds, the Treasury Departments is
already on the move to collect additional funds to keep the company safe if at any time it
requires additional loan for its clients.

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Human Resources
The Human Resource Department has adequately prepared to support the business in due
time. They were efficient enough to hire the right amount of people at the right time. The
table below shows the current situation of BRAC EPL Investments Ltd.
Department wise

Existing

Budgeted HeadcountDifference

Headcount

(2010)

CEOs Office

Portfolio Management

15

26

11

Capital Market

Investment Banking

Finance

Compliance

Admin/Corporate Affairs 2

Human Resources

IT

Total

37

53

16

The business is running smoothly with the current amount of employees working, and if
any further assistance is required the budgeted head count is prepared to hire additional
support at any time. The figure below shows the distribution of work fore and the
distribution of male employees from female employees.

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Current Products
Currently BRACEPL has only one product which is CAP Edge a Non discretionary
portfolio account. It has been found that it is a tremendous product. Any Bangladeshi
can open that account by depositing only taka one lac. Other market leader like IDLC and
other merchant bank is charging more than Five lac. So compared to the competitors
product it is a tremendous product to attract general investors. Our dedicated team is also
working for the future product like discretionary portfolio account. But the main thing is
that all the general people think that this CAP Edge is a product of BRAC Bank for the
loan purposes due to the lack of marketing. So it is confirm that this can really bring a
revolutionary change in Bangladeshi investment culture if we take some corrective
decisions very quickly than our prime competitors.

Current Situation of this product


Earlier we said that we are working on only one product. Within this short time we are
getting a good response from the clients. So far we have opened 1000 plus accounts.
Some other potential accounts are in the pipe line. But it has been found that if we can
take necessary steps regarding marketing aspect then the response will be much better.
BRAC has a existing brand image on the clients mind. There is no doubt regarding the
service quality & efficiencies of BRAC but what is lacking is marketing. We have to
inform people that we are in the market for the betterment of the clients as well as the
nation. Our product features can be the ultimate weapon in this regard. It is mentionable
that previously our speed of opening accounts was in a good pace but recently we are
little beat slow in this matter. We found some problems which has been disclosed later.
Februa March April
May
June
ry
120
230
126
157
455

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Market operation
BRACEPL head office is located in Motijheel and now they have opened branches in
Gulshan and another branch in Motijheel DSE ANNEX to cope up with the increasing
demand of the clients in the Motijheel area. More branches within Dhaka will be
operation very shortly. Future branches are most likely to be open in Uttara, Dhanmondi
and Mirpur area.
It is sure that to win the whole market with our product we have to establish new
branches in some other parts of the Bangladesh. If we can do that then we will get the
first mover advantages. Though we are operating in Motijheel and Gulshan, but we are
getting some supports from the Noakhali and Comilla office regarding account opening.
But this whole operation is very tiny comparing to the market. So we need to enhance our
operation as early as possible by opening some new branches in the prime & remote
location. As BRAC EPL is a subsidy of BRAC Bank, the one of the main goal is to reach
all prospective clients in Bangladesh. The Chittagong branch is almost at its final stage
and will be operation very shortly, other branches like Bogura, Khulna and Sylhet are to
be opened within the next year.
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Customer Services Department


As i have mentioned earlier that customer service is the portion of the PMD, Customer
Services wing generates revenue by opening account and attracting investors to come
towards us. Currently in our CSD (Customer Services Dept) we have some dedicated and
experienced persons to serve the customers. As I was a part of the Customer Service
Department, I had the opportunity to observe how a department was established from
scratch. I had the honor to open the 1st account of BRAC Invesment Ltd and now it was
reached over 1000 clients and it is increasing dramatically. Our customer service dept. is
doing well and they are really dedicated to serve the best to the clients.

Problems faced by the customer service department


Since trading began in BracEpl on 17th Feb 2010, the customer service has opened
over 1000 accounts in less than 4 months. However the growth of new accounts
has shown a siginificant decrease in the last few weeks. Our product and its
features are unrivaled in the market as the growth is tremendouse more assistance
is needed to meet the increasing demand. Another problem we are facing is the
issue of compliance. The Noakhali and Comilla offices are not sending duly
completed application forms. This could become a major problem in the future
when the volume of accounts reach a significant size. The causes of the problems
mentioned could be the following factors Lack of dispersion of branches
Lack of internal commutation
Lack of support from our brokerage
Lack of skilled personnel in Noakhali and Comilla office
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Lack of Dedicated Broker


Lack of marketing

Lack of dispersion branchesBefore we were operating only a single office which is situated in the motijheel
area of Dhaka city. Though it is the hub of the share market it Dhaka city, we have
faced many customers who demanded that there we have offices in areas such as
Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Uttara and Mirpur. Branches could help improve the
customer mix and also to raise the awareness of our brand and products. The
primary target should be the gulshan location, which is scheduled to be opened
this month. It will help to bring in the super rich investors and raise our product
awareness among the upper middle class and upper class section of the population.
A portion of this problem was solved due to the opening of the Gulshan and
Motojheel DES ANNEX branch, but more branches will be required shortly as the
company expands.

Lack of Internal CommunicationAnother issue we are facing is our internal lack of communication among
departments and offices. A particular issue is the securities list that is prepared by
the research team. There are occasions when we receive 3 updates of the list in a a
particular day. This becomes a problem for the investors. For e.g- One client took
a securities list in the morning and purchased a particular share that was
mentioned to be marginable in the list. But the same share was mentioned non
marginable in the latter part of the day. However, there was no way for the client
to know that and the individual had already purchased the share perceiving it to be
marginable. The investor faced tremendous problem regarding this issue and
finally our Head of Portfolio had to resolve the issue personally.
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Lack of support from our brokerageWe expect our brokerage to help us with our marketing and sales. Since most
people come for the BO Account and because our brokerage has been in operation
longer, they verbally try to communicate our message and raise awareness of our
product to their existing and new investors. So far we have had modest support
from them but we expect it to increase.

Lack of skilled personnel in Noakhali and Comilla officeLack of skill of employees in these branches causes a lot of communication
problem. Most of them have very little computer knowledge and does not have
proper corporate etiquette. There were incidents, where we had to fax 30 portfolios
just because they cannot operate their email or use MS office. They also are callas
about the compliance issues and are regularly sending incompleted forms. If this
continues, the list of incompleted accounts might get out of control and may
become a big problem for our compliance department.

Lack of Dedicated BrokersMost clients complain about the fact that we have only one dedicated broker. So
our management should think about this and try to come up with a solution for our
client satisfaction.

Lack of MarketingSince we are a service oriented entity, our main focus should revolve around
marketing. Raising product awareness is a key element in this industry. We should
breach the shackles of the traditional belief of merchant bank marketing and set a
milestone which other banks would follow. Instead of using the pull strategy
(Bringing the customers to us), we should use the push strategy (Taking the
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product to the customer). This could be achieved by


appointing a sales team which will be solely
responsible for marketing and raising awareness. By doing this, we would be
introducing the concept of direct marketing in the investment industry. We should
also increase the frequency of advertisement to let the investor know about our
product.

Recommended Solution
After analyzing all the factors, we have come to the conclusion that marketing
should be our first priority. Sales team should be appointed immediately which
will be directly under the supervision of CSD (Customer Service Department).
We could initially start with 5 sales executives who will be appointed to the head
office and the two other branches that are about to open shortly. Each office will
have 1 or 2 executives depending on the volume of customers and importance of
location.
These executives will be hired as contractual employee with a fixed salary and
commission based on performance and sales. A tentative salary structure for such
executives could be BDT 8000/= per month in addition to the commission on sales
which will be up to the managements discretion.
We should also think about going for BTL (Below the line) ads to increase
awareness about the product in a cost effective way. We could insert leaflets in the
newspaper instead of giving printed news paper ads. By this we could cover many
major portions of the city in a very cost effective way. Our target is to bring all the
small investors into the capital market and the BTL ads are a very cost effective
way to achieve it. This will help when we start our branches in Chittagong and the
other division, we could then go for ATL (Above the line) Ads choosing the media
that will assure highest exposure.

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Financial Highlights
BRAC EPL has started its operation for a very short amount of time, but even after that
its growth sky rocketed at a very impressive speed. No one in the market expected this
kind of growth from a new organization and the PMD team met their annual budget by
the end of the first quarter. The whole team worked cohesively to reach their goal. The
table below shows the success of the BRAC EPL Investments in the first few months of
its operation.
Details

Interest
income
Interest
expense

Jan 2010

Feb 2010

Mar 2010

Apr 2010

YTD

Budgeted

Taka

Taka

Taka

Taka

Taka

Taka

113,899

1,635,510

3,578,939

5,328,348

11,872,849

125,000

125,000

113,899

1,635,510

3,453,939

5,203,348

11,872,849

1,291,471

8,517,998

9,296,344

19,105,813

45,827,874

252,035

2,458,967

4,019,353

6,730,355

13,568,890

1,039,436

6,059,031

5,276,991

12,375,458

32,258,984

33,973

2,469,342

2,395,024

15,198,339

9,007,690

Net interest

income
Fee and
commission
income
Fee and
commission
expense
Net fee and
commission income
Net income
from other
financial
instruments
carried at
fair value

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7,670,205

Other
operating

4,675,128

2,181,117

21,460,500

income

35,986,950

1,333,333

Total
operating

4,675,128

3,668,425

31,624,383

28,796,159

68,764,095

54,472,856

3,081,571

3,901,296

4,398,531

5,841,485

17,222,883

50,538,636

352,376

798,150

806,123

2,156,649

2,033,981

3,281,571

4,253,672

5,196,681

6,647,608

19,379,532

52,572,617

1,393,557

(585,247)

26,427,702

22,148,551

49,384,563

1,900,239

income
Operating
expenses
Depreciatio
n and

200,000

amortization
Total
operating
expenses
Profit
before
income tax

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Objectives
The report purports to focus on two aspects:
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I. The organization and


II. The project
Objectives of the Organization Part
The purpose of the organizational part is to demonstrate the experience of the twelve
week internship program and analyze the activities, performances and also to demonstrate
their strength, weakness, opportunities, threats and other business affairs of BRAC EPL
Investments Ltd.
Objective of the Project Part
This part of the report encompasses a brief rundown on the various functions and
operations of the Merchant Banking Division of BRAC EPL Investmensts Ltd.. I was
allowed to have a practical orientation in every department of the Merchant Banking
Division of BRAC EPL. Thus, all practical information used in this is more or less
collected through the day to day orientation.
Specific Objectives
Apart from the organizational and the project parts, the report will also contains some
specific objectives to know about the historical background of the merchant banking of
our country and the current status of the stock market of Bangladesh.
Scope
I have been assigned in the Merchant Banking Division of BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. and
thus give me the way to get myself familiarized with the non-banking environment for
the first time indeed. I have had an opportunity to gather experience by working in the
different desks of the branch. The area of concentration of this report is confined in
investigating different aspects of the merchant banking transactions, problems, prospects.

26 | P a g e

Methodology
The paper has been written on the basis of information
collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary information has been
collected from the Institutional and as well as some general clients of the bank.
The secondary information has been collected from the banks records, corporate
newsletter, branches manuals, different websites and various publications in the bank.
Some opinions and ideas have been incorporated in the paper through interactive sessions
and interviews with the top management and mid level executives of the organization.

Limitation
During my orientation I am able to learn a lot of things but still it was not enough. There
are some limitations that I cant ignore. The main limitations were:

First of all the duration of my orientation was not enough to cover all aspects of
non-banking operations.

Data unavailability was the constraint. Official documents on the detail activities
of the department were not available as the the organization was newly formed

As an Intern, I dont have access into much confidential information of the


organization.

As the company is newly formed, many of the information were not propel filed
and it was hard to access them.

Guiding Principals
BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. is a multi-product financial institution offering an array of
diverse financial services and solutions to institutional and individual clients to meet their
diverse and unique requirements. Following are the guiding principles that shape the
organizational practice of BRAC EPL.
27 | P a g e

Customer first: BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. has grown


with its customers, who are believed to be the center of all
actions. As the root of BRAC EPLs corporate philosophy, customer service gets the
highest priority.
Innovation: BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. has continuously introduced new financial
products for meeting the needs of the entrepreneurs in a complex & challenging business
environment. The concept of innovation is in-built into the working culture.
Professional Knowledge: BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. is staffed with qualified
professionals and innovative minds in the country. Years of operational experience, large
industrial database and competent workforce have gives them unparalleled advantages.
Professional ethics: The professional at BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. maintain the
highest degree of financial and business ethics in all transactions with the clients. From
the very start BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. tried to put in its best efforts to meet the
expectations of the clients and investors.

PESTLE Analysis
Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Legal, and Economical analysis are very
important before measuring any organizations performance. To evaluate the position of
BRAC EPL in the industry, it is essential to know where and in what situation this
institution is performing its operations. Following factors are discussed to show their
effect on BRAC EPL and on this industry of Bangladesh as a whole.
Political Factors: Political environment was always unstable and it always affects every
aspect of life of this developing country. Due to political turmoil since October 2006 the
share market behaves inconsistently. During this period, DSE general index reached into
record maximum point and also fallen to record minimum point. 26th November, 2007
DSE GEN reached 3071 point increasing 127 in a single day while 3 rd December it fallen
28 | P a g e

to 2873 decreasing 93 points single day lose. This indicates


lack of confidence among investors and uncertainty in the
capital market.
Economic Factors: Economic forces are the factors that affect the consumer buying
power and spending patterns. Despite political turmoil Bangladesh saw a record GDP
growth rate of 6.7% in fiscal year 2005-06. At the same time export oriented
manufacturing, the industrial sector rose by 10.47% and the foreign exchange reserves
achieved a new high of US$ 3.9 billion at the end of 2006. However due to massive
seasonal flood and cyclone SIDR attack, the projected growth for the fiscal year 20072008 will be tough to achieve. Beside this high inflationary pressure led by hike in price
of essentials, fuel, oil, power shortage, uncertainty in politics, reduced RMG export will
worsen the situation.
Social Factors: These are the forces related to societys basic values, perceptions,
preferences and behavior. People grow up in a particular society that shapes their basic
belief and behavior pattern. These forces affect the survival and success of every industry
of the given society. For the record of share market points, experts claims the investors
mindset and lack of knowledge. Thus merchant banking industry heavily influenced by
social factors.
Technological Factors: It is a common saying that todays world is a world of
technology and only those will survive who can be up-to-date with the technology.
Technological forces are those that create new advancement, create innovative products
and market opportunities. To operate in the share market every broker house must be
connected to TESA (The Electronic Securities Architecture), the trading software of DSE.
The principle function of TESA includes Market Information, Order Management, Order
Execution, Trade Reporting, Index calculation, and Market Access. It runs 24 hrs in a day
& 365 days in a year.
Legal Factors: The only regulatory body for monitoring share trading is Bangladesh
Bank (BB) and Security Exchange Commission (SEC). BB has the power to impose
29 | P a g e

penalties for non-compliance and also to intervene in the


management of a bank if serious problems arise. The major
policies and activities of the central bank of Bangladesh can be covered in to Interest
Rate Policy, Capital Adequacy Requirement, Loan Classification and Provisioning
Requirements, Foreign Exchange System Monitoring, and Exchange Rate Policy. The
central bank regulations related to merchant banking are covered under the following
acts:
1. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947
2. The Banking Companies Act, 1991
3. Financial Institutions Act, 1993
The Bangladesh Bank also has defined guidelines in addition to these acts, which also
need to be strictly adhered to. The guidelines are covered under the following heads:
a. The Foreign Exchange Policy Guideline
b. Prudential Guidelines for Banking Companies

For example in 25th November, 2007 SEC imposed rule declaring ban on margin loan in
all merchant banks.
Environmental Factors: Environmental factors are those that affect the industry due to
environmental, ecological or ethical changes. Since share trading is not highly related to
environmental factors, the merchant banking industry is also not influenced by those
factors. However, some large companies of this industry checks whether its clients is
complying with the Environmental Conservation Act 1995 and Environmental
Conservation Rule 1997 properly in the investment projects.
Industry Life Cycle
Merchant banking is a very new concept in Bangladesh capital market arena. This
industry is growing rapidly basically because of the profit margin from the portfolio
30 | P a g e

management services. Another reason for the growth is the


increasing number of companies listed on the share market.
As a result the demand for issue management and issue underwriting is also growing. For
the last five years the number of companies listed
increased very fast. During this time large MNCs and financial strong companies were
getting involved into this industry. Only in 2007 around 17 companies listed so far under
the supervision of different merchant banks. So every day new financial institutions are
applying for merchant banking license. Recently Citi Bank NA gets the license of
merchant banking. This indicates how attractive the industry is becoming.

The merchant banking industry just covered its embryonic stage. Now it is in growth
stage. Although the number of rivalry increased a lot, but there is huge potential into this
industry.

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Experts are expecting that the industry will continue its


growth for the next five year and then may be it reached to
its shakeout stage, considering tis current growth rate. The problem may arise when
unqualified, incapable firms will enter into the market and guide people in different
direction. To prevent such incident SEC and other regulatory bodies need to be aware
from now and give licenses before proper evaluation and judgement.
Top Merchant Banks Operating In the Market (Market Survey)
Although about 23 companies currently have obtained merchant banking license from the
Securities and Exchange Commission only a few of them are seen to be actively involved
in the merchant banking operations. Recently a number of banking companies have also
obtained merchant banking license from the SEC and obtained approval from Bangladesh
Bank for merchant banking operations. However, they are yet to be actively involved in
merchant banking. The listed merchant banks can also be categorized by the services they
offer. Currently the SEC allows two types of merchant banking licenses:
1. Full Service Merchant Banks
2. Issue Managers
Although the full service merchant banking license allows for the bank to undertake issue
management transactions not all bank are currently actively involved in issue
management.

IDLC
IDLC Finance Ltd commenced its journey, in 1985, as the first leasing company of the
country with multinational collaboration and the lead sponsorship of the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) of The World Bank Group. Technical assistance was provided
by Korea Development Leasing Corporation (KDLC), the largest leasing company of the
Republic of South Korea.
32 | P a g e

IDLC, which has now emerged as Bangladeshs leading


multi-product financial institution, has amongst its external
share-holders, international development agencies such as the Aga Khan Fund for
Economic Development (AKFED) and German Investment and Development Company
(DEG) besides the IFC. The other foreign sponsors include Kookmin Bank of the
Republic of Korea in addition to KDLC and, all these institutions together hold 45% of
the Company's shares.
Three Bangladeshi financial institutions - IPDC of Bangladesh Limited, The City Bank
Limited, Sadharan Bima Corporation and the general public hold the remaining 55%
of the shareholding in this public limited company listed with the Dhaka Stock
Exchange. IDLC is on the list of the twenty (20) largest capitalized companies in the
country.
The unique institutional

shareholding structure comprising mostly of financial

institutions helps the company to constantly develop through sharing of experience and
professional approach at the highest policy making level.
IDLC, as a multi-product financial institution, offers a diverse array of financial services
and solutions to institutional and individual clients to meet their diverse and unique
requirements. The product offerings include Lease Finance, Term Finance, Real Estate
Finance, Short Term Finance, Corporate Finance, Merchant Banking, Term Deposit
Schemes, Debentures and Corporate Advisory Services.
IDLC's vision is to be Bangladeshs best multi-product financial institution. In achieving
this vision and goal, we realize the importance of taking due care of all of
our constituents, particularly the share-holders, customers and workforce. The corporate
philosophy is to perform with proper accountability and achieve highest ethical standards
in all our activities.
IDLCs unique institutional shareholding structure, compromising mostly of financial
institutions, helps the company to constantly develop through sharing of experience and
professional approach at the highest policy making level. The company has authorized
33 | P a g e

capital of Taka 1,000,000,000 (10,000,000 shares of Taka


100 each) and paid up capital of Taka 150,000,000
(1,500,000 ordinary shares of Taka 100 each). IDLC has also established two wholly
owned subsidiaries, IDLC Securities Limited and I, Cons Limited to provide customers
with security brokerage solutions and IT solutions, respectively.

Prime Finance and Investment Limited


Prime Finance and Investment Limited is a Non-Bank Financial Institution engaged in
leasing and merchant banking operations in Bangladesh. It was incorporated on 10 March
1996 as a public limited company under the companys act 1994 and was licensed on 25
April 1996 by the Bangladesh bank under the Financial Institutions Act 1993. The
company obtained license from the Securities and Exchange Commission on 25 July
1999 to conduct merchant banking. It commenced leasing operations on 15 July 1996 and
merchant banking on 16 October 1999. At the time of establishment, its authorized and
paid up capital was Tk 500 million and Tk 50 million respectively divided into ordinary
shares of Tk 100 each.
The leasing unit of the company provides finance for capital machinery including
construction equipment, marine equipment, energy generation equipment, office and
office automation equipment and transport. Through this unit, the company provides
micro finance under hire purchase scheme and working capital finance to the enterprises,
as well as to individuals of different profession through the this unit. The merchant
banking unit is engaged in capital/stock market operations, which includes both fee and
fund based services. Specific capital market oriented activities of the company are issue
management, underwriting of public issue of shares and debentures, direct trading in the
securities market, bridge financing, portfolio management, and venture capital finance,
etc.

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Uttara Finance and Investment Limited


Uttara Finance and Investment Limited a joint venture leasing and financing company
registered as non-bank financial institutions under the Financial Institution Act 1993 and
the companys act 1994. It commenced business on 1 November 1995 with an authorized
capital of Tk 250 million divided in to shares of Tk 100 each. The paid up capital of the
company is Tk 120 million. Of the total share capital, 25% is held by Bangladeshi
sponsors, 20.83% by foreign sponsors (Singaporean), 14.10% by the investment
corporation of Bangladesh, 0.09% by its employees and 39.98% by the general public.
The company is listed with both Chittagong and Dhaka Stock Exchanges.
The company provides lease finance for all types of industrial and commercial light and
heavy equipment and consumer durable including vehicles, as well as temporary credit
support to its clients. It provides documentary credit support to import lease assets from
abroad and asset-related term financing. Merchant banking activity of the company
includes underwriting, portfolio management, bridge financing, and facilities through
syndication/consortium, mutual fund and investment in capital market through investors'
account.

Bay Leasing and Investments Limited (BLIL)


BLIL was incorporated in Bangladesh as a public limited company under the companys
act 1994. It obtained license from the Bangladesh bank as a non-bank financial institution
under the Financial Institutions Act 1993 on 25 May 1996 and commenced leasing and
other types of financing activities at that time. The company was established with an
authorized and a paid up capital of Tk 500 million and Tk 50 million respectively, divided
into shares of Tk 100 each. In June 1998, the Securities and Exchange Commission
granted the company the license to operate as a full-fledged merchant banker. The

35 | P a g e

company's paid up capital rose to Tk 40 million in 2000 to


lever the accompanied risk of its increased business
performance.
The company has a brokerage house named BLI Securities Ltd., which is engaged in
stock market dealings and other merchant banking functions. The company earned a
gross profit of Tk 10 million in 1997 and Tk 11 million in 2000. The management of the
company is vested in a 19-member management team headed by the managing director.
GSP Finance Company (Bangladesh) Limited
GSP Finance Company (Bangladesh) Limited is a non-bank financial institution
incorporated in Bangladesh on 29 October 1995 as a public limited company under the
companies act 1994. The company received its certificate of commencement of business
on 14 January 1996 and its license on 4 March 1996. It went into commercial operations
on 17 April 1996. It also received license from Securities and Exchange Commission on
24 August 1999 for working as a merchant banker. Five foreign sponsors hold 85.28% of
its shares and the rest is held by domestic sponsors. The company was established with an
authorized and a paid up capital of Tk 1,000 million and Tk 150 million respectively. The
paid up capital in December 2000 was Tk 160 million.
The company offers lease finance to all types of plant, machinery, equipment and
vehicles both for industrial and commercial use and for pharmaceutical industries.
Merchant banking activities of the company include transactions in Mutual Funds, issue
management and underwriting of public issue of shares and debentures, and participation
in the trading of shares in the stock exchanges. It also receives term deposits. Other
functions of the company are hire purchase, supply of venture capital, short and medium
term loans to industrial units and individual entrepreneurs, project financing (separately
and by syndication), and investment and other financial counseling.
A list of other merchant banks and their services is listed in the appendix.

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LIMITATION OF MERCHANT BANKING IN BANGLADESH


Supply of Funds
Although share capital is prospective source of fund for merchant banks, many
companies have not utilized this opportunity fully. As most of the merchant banks are
incorporated as public limited companies, it could be a better alternative for them to raise
fund through initial public offerings in order to finance the expanding horizon of
activities. It can also be seen that the dominance of bank loan in the total fund is
decreasing while the importance deposit base is gaining momentum. Financial
institutions have to raise capital and reserve of at least BDT 250 million, a portion of
which must be collected through the issuance of IPO. This arrangement will make their
operations more transparent, bring accountability to the shareholders and reduce
dependence on credit lines. Though all merchant banks were required to raise their
minimum capital requirement through IPOs by September 2006 (extended from June
2006), eight (8) companies are yet to float their shares in the market. Four of these have
already submitted necessary documents to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
for review while four others are still in the process of doing so.
Cost of Fund
Merchant banks face comparative disadvantage in collecting funds compared to the banks
because they cannot collect short term (less than one year) deposits from individuals due
to the central banks restriction, and again deposits in these institutions are perceived to
be less safe to the public. The high cost of fund for these compels them to operate on a
relatively low profit margin.
Asset-Liability disparity
Asset-liability mismatch is another cause of concern for merchant banks. Demand for
funds to meet the increasing lending requirements has increased many times. But the
37 | P a g e

availability of funds has become inadequate. The average


weighted life of the companys business portfolio should be
less than the average weighted life of its deposits and borrowing in its operating
guidelines for a leasing company. Therefore, the merchant banks have to explore
alternative ways for raising funds.

Investment in High Risk Portfolio


It is already mentioned that cost of funds for merchant banks are higher than that of
banks. In order to sustain the high cost of borrowing, these may be inclined to invest in
the high return segments, which can expose them to commensurately higher risks.
Moreover, fierce competition among competitors may also force many institutions to
reduce the margin at the expense of quality of the asset portfolio. This strategy may
eventually create the possibility of an increase in the non-performing accounts. Unless
adequate risk management capabilities are developed, the growth prospects of merchant
banks would not only be hindered but it might also be misapprehended.
Product Diversification
The merchant banks emerged primarily to fill in the gaps in the supply of financial
services which were not generally provided by the banking sector, and also to
complement the banking sector in meeting the financing requirements of the evolving
economy. The new customer base has not been created and the growth of industrial
entrepreneurship could not be facilitated through merchant banking packages.
Diversifying the product range is a strategic challenge for them in order to become
competitive in the rapidly growing market.
Competition with other Banks
With the advent of new merchant banks, the market share is being spread over the
competing firms and the demand facing each firm is becoming more elastic. Active
participation of commercial banks in the non-bank financing activities has further
increased the level of competition in the industry. For commercial banks, public deposit
38 | P a g e

is one major source of funds which they can collect with


relatively lower cost. Thus the business environment for
merchant banks has become more challenging as they have to face uneven competition
with banks in terms of collecting funds.

Lack of skilled Human Resource


Skilled and trained human resource is considered as an important component for the
development of any institution. Due to the recent growth of merchant banks, availability
of experienced manpower is a challenge for this industry. The supply shortage of efficient
resource personnel has been leading to a significant increase in the compensation
package. The industry experts believe that although there exists enormous growth
opportunity, the market is still quite small and scope of work for skilled personnel is very
limited compared to that of banks. This makes the competent personnel to switch from
the merchant banks to other institutions after a certain period implying low retention rate
of skilled human resource.
Fragile Legal environment
Although the default culture has not yet infected the merchant banks to any major extent,
delays in court procedures create another cause of concern. The situation cannot be
improved only by making the legal system stronger through enactment of new laws rather
ensuring proper implementation existing ones is more of concern.

Merchants Banks: From the view of the Customers.


The growth of BRAC EPL Investments Ltd it self is a living proof of the prospects of
Merchant Banks in Bangladesh. As mentioned before there are already 24 active
merchant banks in Bangladesh and many more renowned banks are already preparing to
open merchant banking division. The secondary data collected and mentioned before
shows the growth, profit and stability of each of the merchant banks that are in operation

39 | P a g e

today. And only due to the future prospect of merchant


banks that some many other banks are planning to open up
merchant banks.
Beside the secondary data, I also took the initiative on collecting some primary data. I
prepared a little questioner and personally interviewed the clients to find the attitude of
the clients about merchant banks and the margin loan facility that they provide.
It has been seen that most the clients who come to merchant banks applying for margin
loan know about the risk factors. I also found out those clients who are in the stock
market for more then 6-7 years are more relaxed with the interest rates and charges of the
margin loan facility. They are well aware of that the cumulative interest rates and charges
of the merchant banks are less then the interest of a bank. And big investors are also less
worried about the charges. Because most of them are confident that they will be able to
make the profit required to offset the charges. They realize that they are able to trade with
twice the money they had with them, in simple terms they will be able to make twice as
much profit, so in terms of that the interest rates and other charges dont bother them that
much.
On the other hand it has been that small investors who wants to open and account with
only 1 lac are more concerned about the charges. They make through and detail queries
before making and investment. Only after they are satisfied they will approach a margin
loan facility. But it has been seen, that who have a better understanding about the market,
even if they have a small investment do not hesitate to take the offer of margin loan.
Clients who open margin loan account under merchant banks are deprived of one main
facility. They can not apply for IPO (Initial Public Offering). The margin loan account of
merchant banks are only designed to operate in the secondary market.
The whole trade of merchant bank is done under and Omnibus BO account of the
respected company. Then the desired trade of each of these clients are allocated in their

40 | P a g e

respective client code. In short, the clients trading under


merchant banks have no individual BO account of their
own.
Even after this drawbacks, more and more clients approach everyday to avail a margin
loan facility in a merchant bank.
I had an opportunity to collect some answers via a questioner and some interviews. It was
very hard to get the clients of cooperate. Before the trade they are mostly worried about
what is going to happen, so they were not willing to answer properly. During the trade,
they are all busy monitoring the constant price change of all the products and at that time
they dont like to be disturbed. And after the trade they are either to happy with their
accomplishment or disappointed and even at that time they are not willing to share any
information. But even after that I was able to get in touch with 30 respondents who were
willing to answer my questions, but I mostly had to ask them the questions and manually
fill them out.
After gathering the basic question of name, address and contact number I moved on to the
more serious questions.
My first question was to find out the experience of the clients in the share market.
Therefore the fist question stated for how long are you involved in the share market?
For how long are you involved in the share
market?
a)
b)
c)
d)

Less then a year


2-4 years
5-10 years
More the 10 years
Total
Mean
Median

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Frequency
4
12
11
3
30
7.5
7.5

Percentage
13.3333333
40
36.6666667
10
100

If we look at the above table we can that most of the


clients are not new in the share market, they have more or
less some experience about the market and what it represents. Most of the respondents
were attracted by the margin loan facility, with some knowledge margin loan gave them
the opportunity to invest the double amount, and therefore most of the respondents aim to
get double return.
Secondly I targeted to find out, what type of account do the respondents hold?
What type of account do you maintain?
a)
b)
c)

BO Account
Margin Loan Account
Both
Mean
Median

Frequency
4
9
17
30
10
9

Percentage
13.3333333
30
56.6666667
100

The table and the graph above shows that more than 50% of the respondents hold both a
BO account and a Margin Loan account, when I personally asked the respondents the
reason for this, they said its simple, they want to get the margin loan facility so that they
can trade double the volume, and on they also hold an BO account, so that they can apply
for IPO, a facility that is not available in the margin loan account. Half of the respondents
who were only using the margin loan facility were new, they had not that much exposure
with the share market. But they tool up the loan as it gave them a chance to double their
investments.
That gave me the opportunity to ask the next question, do the respondents think that the
margin loan facility is very risky.
3. Do you think Margin Load is risky?
Frequency Percentage
a) Very risky
7 23.3333333
b) Little risky
21
70
c) Safe
2 6.66666667
d) Very Safe
0
0
30
100
Mean
7.5
Median
4.5

42 | P a g e

The table and the graph above tell us about the clients perceptions about the margin loan
facility. Question number 4 was to get the reason behind answer number 3, where I asked
the respondent the reason behind margin loans riskiness. We can see that none of the
respondent are answered that margin loan is very safe, as there is a loan involved they all
thought that there are some risk involved in the margin loan facility. Only 6% of the
respondents thought that it was somewhat safe, but the as these 6% of the respondents
had more then 5 years experience in the share market and they sort of know all the tricks
behind the market, that was the reason they thought that margin loan facility is was safe.
The other 93% of the respondents thought that margin loan was risky even as they were
using it. They said that there are constant interest charges and management fees, and even
if they are in a loss they had to pay them. Therefore it put them into some pressure to
always pay up the charges in the quarter end.
As I asked the next question, I was amused to see that fully that 100% respondents
choose one answer. When I asked them that will it be easier to use the margin loan if they
have more information about the market? And as I said before all the respondents said
yes. It made me curious and I rally wanted to find the reason why every one said yes.
When I asked other people in the trading floor about this question, I was surprised every
single one them said yes. Then I took this issue to one of Traders, he said, any
respondents will say yes if you provide more market information to them. No one wants
to make a loss, so more as they get more information they will be more into it. The graph
below shows how much the respondents wants to get more information.
5. Do you think it would be easier to use Margin
Loan Facility if you have more information about
the market?
Frequency
Percentage
a) No
0
0
b) Yes
30
100
30
100
Mean
15
Median
15

43 | P a g e

The next question that also would have been one sided
except if there were no respondents that had previously
used margin loan facility. The question asked if the loan interest, management fees and
the buy and sell brokerage commission that the clients were paying is high? The
respondent answers from the point of view of BRAC EPL Investments Ltd. The graph
below shows their answers.
6. Do you think that interest, fees and brokerage
commission is too expensive?
Frequency

a
b
c

Percentage

Yes

16

53.3333333

No

20

8
30
10
8

26.6666667
100

Average
Mean
Median

More then 50% of the clients said that the charges are too high, but as I looked further
into the topic, I found out that the clients perceive the charges to be high. The remainder
40% who said that the charges are not high and it average, they also went to different
merchant banks for queries and some contains margin loan accounts in other banks as
well, therefore after market survey they perceive that the charges in BRAC EPL
Investments are not that high compared to its competitors.
The last question was little confidential for the respondents, not all the clients wanted

44 | P a g e

45 | P a g e

Case Studies
1. Relocation from Gulshan Office to Motijheel Head Office.
I had tremendous opportunity to be with an organization from its very start. At the
very beginning there were just three interns working for BRAC EPL Investments
Limited. We were assigned under three department heads. As mentioned before
BRAC EPL Brokerage office was located in Gulshan, but there was not sufficient
space to accommodate all of the Investment team. So, before the new Motijheel office
was ready, all of the Investments was temporary working on the Gulshan Branch. The
Investment Team was located there for four months, and I was first assigned to the
work on the Gulshan Branch. And the day finally came when Head Office was ready
and the Whole Investment team was getting to move. At first the Portfolio
Management Team was assigned to move and as I was an intern of the PMD
(Portfolio Management Team) was I lucky to make the first move as well. Therefore
46 | P a g e

on the 4th of February, the PMD team started to get


ready to move. As the next two days were weekends it
was the perfect time to move. The whole PMD team arrived on the Head Office on
the following Sunday. After setting up the PMD Department, the PMD team took
initiative to prepare the rest of the office for the other departments so that they could
shift easily. In the following days rest of departments, HR, Treasury, Capital Market
and the Research Department shifted to the Head Office. Everyone were really
excited to be in new office, and now they only counting for the operation to start.
2. Launching of Operation of BRAC EPL Investments Limited.
February 17th is the most memorable day of BRAC EPL Investment. On this day
BRAC EPL had all the documents Approved by SEC to start its operation. As the
head of settlement walked in with the approved documents in his hand, within five
minutes we from the customer service departments were fully busy. Before February
17th, we were only able to collect the accounts of the clients. But as we did not have
the permission to be in operations we were unable to open any of the accounts. So, at
that very time we started to call up all the clients who had deposited their account.
The customer service department activated all the accounts and called up all the
respective clients and informed that they are now ready to trade using the margin loan
facility. This was just the start of the financial journey of BRAC EPL Investments
Limited.
3. 1st PMD monthly Meeting
After a few days in operation, the first Portfolio Management Department meeting
was held. They main objectives of this meeting was to ensure that all the sub
departments within the Portfolio Management Department, like Accounts,
Settlements, Customer Service, Branch Operation and Trade are all functioning
properly. The business is new, everyone in the meeting participated and commented
on how to make the operation more smooth and how to cut down other unnecessary
47 | P a g e

cost that will become a liability in the long run. The


meeting was lead by the head of PMD, Mesbah Uddin
Khan. The meeting was very interactive, very informal as everyone was very relaxed
but effective as everyone could participate.
4. Head Office on Fire.
This incident was one of the most crucial and dangerous incidents that the employees
of BRAC EPL had to face. A short circuit from the generator started this fire. Panic
spread through out the building within seconds. As all the employees from all the
offices tried to rush down it became more dangerous. Black smoke filled the
stairways which caused even more chaos within the people. The good thing is that
everyone took initiatives to help the other person out and made sure that all the
employees made it out safely. The fire brigade arrived in the scene and took care of
the fire. As per their comment the fire was not the big but could have been dangerous
if it would spread before extinguishing it. Slowly all the employees made it back to
the office. But as the fire was in the electrical power line, all the power in the building
was cut off. But the trade must go on. So all the traders and other employees of the
portfolio management team started communicating with the other branches to execute
the trade placed in the head office. It was long hard day, but through sheer will power
and team effort we got the job done.

5. 2 Days Team Building Session In Rajendropur


As the title says, it was team building session designed so that the employees of
BRAC EPL can work more efficiently. The main reason behind this program was to
familiarize the employees with each other. It has been observed that the employees
from the BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage knew a handful people from the BRAC
EPL Investment team and like wise. And even more, employees from different
branches only communicated with each other via phone or e-mail. So, the main theme
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was to introduce all the employees with each so that


the communication and operation is more effective and
efficient. The 2 day team building session included everything, from indoor games to
out door exercise, from team coordination exercise to video exercise. All in all this
was a very effective program, as the communication and operation is running
smoothly between the branches and the between the brokerage and the investment
team.
6. Celebration of Highest Trade volume
After only two months of launching the operation, BRAC EPL reached its record
trade. As the company is new everyday they were setting milestones for themselves.
On average daily trade volume consist of 3,00,00,000 - 4,00,00,000. But on that
certain date, the whole BRAC EPL Investment crossed over 100,000,000. This was
by far one of the biggest achievements of the BRAC EPL Investment team.
Financially this was the best thing that happened to BRAC EPL.
7. Zero Tolerance for Compliance issues.
The golden rule that was set by the head of the Portfolio Management Department.
There will be on inconsistency in trade, .there will be no incomplete account opening
form. There will not be thing that is not within the legal terms. This sometimes causes
some negative impact. For example, there are other securities houses who are little
relaxed in terms of overbuy (when a client buys shares that exceeds his total purchase
power) or in terms of netting (when a share is sold and the some other share is bought
with the equivalent amount of money). Therefore some clients complain that of others
can be a little relaxed why cant BRAC EPL do the same. But the logic behind BRAC
EPL Investment Limited is to make profit by staying within the rules. It will not do
anything that will hamper its goodwill.
8. Miss Communication between branches due to technical error.
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There was this day, when a little miscommunication


occurred between the head office and the branch in Noakhali. As the fax machine was
not working the account opening confirmation mail could not be sent. As a result the
we could not officially deliver the client code to the branch and the trade of those
accounts was on halt. Therefore a quick action was taken. It was decided that the
client code / trading code will be notified to the branch via phone. During this
communication, between all the client code that was given to the branch office in
Noakhali, one of the account number was misheard and wrongly entered. As a result
two different trade was done under the same account number. As the end of the day,
when this error was discovered, all the trade data was dumped from the software, then
the error was corrected and then data was loaded again. This was no negative
financial impact on the company but that day, most of the employees form the
Portfolio Management Department had to stay back to solve this problem. But it was
made sure that on the future this same mistake was never done again. No
confirmation about the code or about the purchase power was ever delivered through
the phone again. All the data was delivered via fax or e-mail.
9.

Opening of Gulshan Branch and DSE Annex Branch.

BRAC EPL has a plan to open as many branches in Dhaka as possible. The main
purpose of opening branches all around Dhaka is to increase the client base and to
accommodate the increasing amount of clients. The opening of two other branches
was a huge success. Within 1 month Gulshan Branch opened 100+ clients and their
asset under management was over 8 corers. Another branch was opened in Motijheel
in the DSE Annex building so that BRAC EPL can accommodate the huge client base
in Motijheel area. And this approach really pleased the clients as now they have
enough space to sit comfortably and trade. Even as the head office was just around
the block the DSE Annex branch showed huge success. Within three weeks they were
also able to open 50+ accounts. Opening branches had a huge financial impact on
BRAC EPL Investments. It not only increased the Asset Under Management Value,
but it also increased the trade volume and the total trade amount.
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10. Investor Awareness program


BRAC EPL plans to host an investor awareness program each month so that they
should share knowledge about the share market to the valued customers. The main
objective of this program is share knowledge with the customers, not all the
customers who trade in the share market are not accustomed to all the rules and
regulations of DSE and not all the customers are accustomed to the terms used in the
share market. DSE officials and even BRAC EPL officials take part in these program
to share knowledge and educate the investors about all the terms and condition. I my
self attended two of these programs and from my experience it is very educational
and very helpful. In the long run this will be beneficial for BRAC EPL as this is
creating a positive good will.

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