Areef Billah made MD of AB Bank

Areef Billah Adil Chowdhury has been appointed as the managing director (MD) of AB Bank PLC, effective August 19, 2026.

Prior to his new assignment, he was serving as managing director of National Bank PLC, according to a press release.

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With more than 25 years of experience in domestic and international banking organisations, Areef has held various senior leadership positions and worked in strategic and transformational roles.

He joined Bank Asia as president and managing director in 2020.

Before that, he served as a director at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Hong Kong and Singapore and held several senior leadership positions overseas for more than 15 years.

During his international career, he also oversaw strategic operations across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.

Earlier in his career, he worked with Credit Agricole Indosuez and American Express Bank in Dhaka.

Areef obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (VLSI design) from the University of Texas at Austin in the US and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.