At the end of 2024, one-fifth of the total loans in the banking sector turned sour, mainly as the true extent of embezzlement by willful defaulters is now coming to light.

Says Md Mehmood Husain, independent director and current chair of the bank

Companies linked to the controversial S Alam Group took out 56 percent of the total disbursed loans of First Security Islami Bank (FSIB), one of six Shariah-based lenders controlled by the Chattogram-based business giant.

SIBL, in which Chattogram-based S Alam Group holds a majority stake, hid Tk 7,924 crore of its defaulted loans, according to an inspection by the central bank.

Eight state-owned enterprises (SOEs) of Bangladesh had a combined default loan of Tk 183.62 crore in February, official figures showed.

The BB said this will come into effect from September 30 this year.

The verdict so far is that the year will see slow GDP growth but also experience lower inflation.

To overcome the economic crisis, no doubt, the country needs strong economic leadership, backed by strong political will.

The system of selling insurance services to bank customers will ultimately expand financial inclusion.

Resilience in the banking sector will be affected significantly if the top three borrowers default on their loans, as per the financial stability assessment report of the Bangladesh Bank.

Rick Haque Sikder, a director of National Bank Ltd (NBL) and chairman of R&R Aviation Ltd, has defaulted on repayments of a loan with AB Bank Ltd, which might cost him the directorship if dues are not cleared in two months.   

With the high rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) being a major challenge for the banking sector, just 25 of the 61 commercial banks in Bangladesh are managing to keep their NPL rates below 5 percent.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Bangladesh’s banking sector hit a new record in June as withdrawal of a relaxed central bank policy, slowdown in business sales and deliberate non-payments pushed up the volume of bad loans to Tk 1,56,039 crore, central bank data showed.

The loans can be repaid in 10 years with one-year of grace period

It increased by Tk 10,954 crore to hit Tk 131,621 crore in March

Habitual defaulters' reluctance to repay the funds fuelled the amount to reach Tk 120,656 crore

The International Monetary Fund has identified the problems in the banking system, including the high volume of defaulted loans, as one of the three domestic risks that derail the economy in the short- to medium-term.

While the government is distracted by elections, the financial economy will suffer

Bangladesh economy was all set at the beginning of 2022 to get its growth momentum back after recovering from the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. But, the start of the Ukraine war in February slowed the country’s joy run significantly, making it an eventful year to remember. Let’s see how 2022 was for Bangladesh.

Investigation into financial irregularities the first step forward