Philanthropy and charitable giving were an essential part of the vision and management philosophy of BCCI's Founder and President, Mr Agha Hasan Abedi. He believed that the success of a financial institution should be measured not only by its commercial achievements, but also by the contribution it made to society and to human development.
The surviving records include material relating to the BCCI Foundation in Bangladesh, the BCCI Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Pakistan, and other charitable and educational initiatives supported through the BCCI network. Contemporary material also records Abedi’s consideration, as early as 1978, of establishing institutional structures through which part of the Bank’s resources could be directed towards wider social and developmental purposes.
In Bangladesh, the BCCI Foundation was dedicated to the purpose of serving the people and the economy of the country. It participated directly in the creation of a development-oriented banking institution. BASIC Bank - Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank - established in 1988 a as a joint venture between the BCCI Foundation, which held 70% of the shares, and the Government of Bangladesh, which held the remaining 30%.
These initiatives were distinct from BCCI’s ordinary commercial banking operations. They reflected the Founder’s belief that a successful financial institution could contribute more broadly to the societies in which it operated by supporting education, professional development, scientific advancement, health and programmes aimed at reducing poverty.
The foundations therefore formed part of a wider institutional philosophy that accompanied BCCI’s growth: commercial success was intended to provide resources not only for shareholders and expansion, but also for longer-term programmes of human and social development.