BB rejects Janata Bank’s request to adjust Tk 27cr loss at Italian subsidiary
BB said the matter would be reviewed on whether the subsidiary achieves profitability by June 2026
12 October 2025, 18:00 PM
Financial institution of the year / How City Bank became a top lender
While the country’s financial sector is passing through a challenging period with more than a dozen banks with weak financials, City Bank has emerged not only as one of the top lenders but also as a pioneer of financial technology.
1 October 2025, 18:00 PM
10 businesses, Hasina family: Tk 57,257cr in assets frozen at home, abroad
The document shows that Tk 46,805.32 crore of the assets are in Bangladesh, while the remaining Tk 10,451.54 crore are abroad.
24 September 2025, 18:05 PM
NBFI crisis locks up depositors’ savings
Nine non-banks set for liquidation owe Tk 15,370cr to savers
20 September 2025, 18:38 PM
INTERVIEW / Stakeholder engagement vital for interoperable payment system
Stakeholder involvement is the key to the success of an interoperable instant payment system, yet this was missing when Bangladesh introduced its first digital platform “Binimoy” a few years ago, according to Snigdha Ali, country lead of Inclusive Financial Systems (IFS), an initiative of the Gates Foundation.
16 September 2025, 18:00 PM
Largest Islamic bank in the making
The five banks slated for consolidation are First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and Exim Bank.
7 September 2025, 18:14 PM
City Bank, bKash, TransUnion get primary nod for private credit bureaus
Central bank approves private entities to run credit bureaus
3 September 2025, 18:00 PM
First Security Islami Bank paying staff from depositors’ funds
The financial health of First Security Islami Bank PLC has turned so dire that it is now paying staff salaries directly from depositors’ money, according to a Bangladesh Bank (BB) document.
2 September 2025, 18:00 PM
State banks nowhere near target to retrieve funds from top defaulters
Four state-run banks in Bangladesh are finding it difficult to recoup loans from their top 20 defaulters, a failure that has worsened their financial health and squeezed their capacity further to lend.
9 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Old political issue has evolved from financial to structural problem
A longstanding political issue has now evolved from a financial concern to a structural problem in Bangladesh, according to noted economist Prof Rehman Sobhan.
8 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Financial account turns positive. It’s more about $14b export data correction
The financial account has turned positive after more than a year, yet it might not be good news for Bangladesh since it is the result of the revision of national data in line with IMF prescription and does not indicate improvement in the health of the economy.
3 July 2024, 18:00 PM
BB injected $12.79b into banks in FY24
The Bangladesh Bank injected $12.79 billion into banks from its reserves in the just-concluded 2023-24 fiscal year as banks combatted a severe US dollar crisis which hampered import payments.
2 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Remittance hit $24b in FY24, highest in three years
After hovering around the $21-billion mark for the previous two fiscal years, total remittances sent home by Bangladesh’s migrant workers reached nearly $24 billion in the just concluded fiscal year of 2023-24, providing some breathing space amid the forex crunch.
1 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Economy in FY25: Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?
There is hope that the major challenges Bangladesh is facing due to high inflation and the foreign reserve crisis will stabilise gradually in fiscal year 2024-25, but consistency in maintaining a strict policy stance will be imperative to that end.
30 June 2024, 18:00 PM
FY24: one of the gloomiest years for economy
At the beginning of fiscal year 2023-24, there was an expectation that the country’s economy would recover from the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and other external pressures.
29 June 2024, 18:00 PM
BRAC Bank thrives on SMEs that many consider a no-go
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered risky clients by most formal sector lenders since their financial health is weak and they are not good at managing risks and are expensive to lend. However, BRAC Bank has a different story to tell.
22 June 2024, 18:00 PM
Banks’ surging investments in bills, bonds shrink loanable funds
Banks in Bangladesh are increasing their investments in Treasury bills and bonds to net higher profits from the rising interest rate, a development that has squeezed the availability of loans for borrowers.
16 June 2024, 01:20 AM
Forex reserves to get $2b boost
Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves are set to receive as high as $2 billion this month, which may send the total to nearly $21 billion, handing a much-needed relief to the US dollar supply.
14 June 2024, 01:10 AM
Bangladesh Bank’s digital efforts off to a slow start
The services have received lukewarm responses from the targeted customers because they were launched hastily and lack user-friendly features and campaigns were not run to make them popular. Besides, there is no incentive and banks are unwilling, industry insiders said.
12 June 2024, 03:18 AM
BB allows new entities to assess credit worthiness of borrowers
These credit bureaus will work to determine credit standards by analysing borrower data before sharing it with banks, which will help financial institutions make informed decisions, said the central bank guidelines on the licencing, operating and regulating of credit bureaus.
10 June 2024, 01:02 AM
Why have loan defaults risen sharply?
However, NPLs rose 38.5 percent year-on-year to Tk 1,82,295 crore by the end of March, accounting for 11.11 percent of the total loans disbursed in the banking system, according to central bank data.
8 June 2024, 21:24 PM
Bad loans hit historic high
Default loans in the banking sector of Bangladesh hit an all-time high of Tk 182,295 crore, but no reform programme to reduce it has been announced in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
6 June 2024, 18:00 PM
Default loans hit historic high of Tk 1,82,295 crore
Bad loans rose by Tk 36,367 crore in just three months
6 June 2024, 10:51 AM
Banking reforms remain a pipe dream
As new finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali gears up to place his first budget for FY25, the lack of good governance in the banking sector remains a widely discussed issue.
6 June 2024, 00:42 AM
Mercantile Bank redirects focus to SME, retail lending
Mercantile Bank PLC used to emphasise corporate lending but now the private commercial lender plans to redirect the focus in order to bring the unbanked people under the financial system by providing more loans to small and medium enterprises, retail and agriculture, said its top executive.
1 June 2024, 18:06 PM
Janata Bank’s 57pc bad loans taken by 7 firms
Seven large borrowers, including AnonTex, Crescent, Ratanpur, and S Alam groups, account for 57 percent of the total default loans at Janata Bank, highlighting the risks lenders face if a handful of firms eat up most of the credit.
30 May 2024, 18:00 PM
Treasury bond yields climb to 15-year high
The interest rate of treasury bonds recently jumped to a 15-year high of 12.75 percent, indicating that government borrowing will become costlier in the months ahead.
30 May 2024, 01:00 AM
BB bypasses own rules in appointing IFIC Bank adviser
The Bangladesh Bank has bypassed its own rules by approving the appointment of Mohammad Shah Alam Sarwar as the strategic adviser of IFIC Bank PLC.
29 May 2024, 03:32 AM