President Mohamed Muizzu officially inaugurated the Development Bank of Maldives (DBM) on Saturday night. The nation’s first development bank will be headquartered at the Allied Building, across Malé’s Independence Square.
The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) granted DBM its operating licence on 31 October this year, requiring it to begin operations before 12 October 2025.
The inauguration event, which was originally scheduled to be held outdoors across DBM’s premises, had to be moved indoors to the Islamic Centre due to heavy rain. Upon conclusion of the inauguration event, Muizzu visited and toured the bank’s offices.
Setting up a development bank was one of Muizzu’s key presidential pledges, and under the powers vested in the President pursuant to the Companies Act (2023), he declared the establishment of the “Development Bank of Maldives Limited” on 16 May this year.
Noel Gregor Paterson-Jones will serve as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Paterson-Jones is a banking professional from the UK, having most recently served as Chief Investment Officer at Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund.
Aruni Goonetilleke will serve as Chairman of the Board. Goonetilleke is a Sri Lankan-born banking professional from Singapore with more than 25 years of experience in international finance.
Other members on DBM’s board include Ahmed Ali, Saeed Abdul Nasir Bin Saeed Hassan al-Junaid, and Robert Daniel Kant.