The Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (Burmese: မြန်မာ့ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုနှင့် ကူးသန်းရောင်းဝယ်ရေးဘဏ်; abbreviated MICB) is a state-owned bank in Myanmar (Burma). It was established on July 4, 1990, under the Financial Institutions of Myanmar Law of 1990, which separated it from the Myanma Economic Bank.
Overview
MICB is headquartered at No. 170–176, the corner of Merchant Road and Bo Aung Kyaw Street, Botahtaung Township, Yangon, Myanmar. The bank operates branches mainly in Yangon and Mandalay and focuses primarily on business and domestic currency-denominated lending for commercial, investment, and development activities. It also acts as a banking intermediary for foreign investment activities.
Services and Functions
According to the bank's official profile, MICB provides commercial banking services, investment banking services, domestic banking services, and international banking services to its customers, particularly private local customers and foreign direct investors. Its main functions include:
- Accepting current and fixed deposits in both local and foreign currencies
- Accepting savings deposits in local currency (kyat)
- Extending overdraft and term loans in local currency to national customers
- Remitting funds domestically and internationally in both local and foreign currencies
- Buying and selling foreign currencies
- Providing international banking facilities such as letters of credit, trade financing, bill collection, payments, and settlements for exporters, importers, and investors
- Undertaking bank guarantees in local and foreign currencies
Regulatory Status
MICB holds a bank license issued by the Central Bank of Myanmar (License No. Mababa / Na Ba (R) - 3/08/2016, issued August 24, 2016). The bank is registered under the Financial Institutions of Myanmar Law and operates under the oversight of Myanmar's Ministry of Finance and Revenue.
Sanctions
On June 21, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated MICB, along with the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanmar's Ministry of Defense, as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). The U.S. Treasury described MICB and MFTB as state-owned financial institutions that primarily function as foreign currency exchanges, enabling the conversion of kyat to U.S. dollars and euros and the reverse. OFAC subsequently issued General License 5, authorizing the wind-down of transactions involving MICB or MFTB.
