Md Mehedi Hasan

In 2025, some macroeconomic indicators improved, but the mood on the ground did not.

When bankers entered the new year and opened their books for 2025, many quickly realised that the scale of long-buried damage was too large to hide any longer.

Nearly three out of every four taka lent by National Bank has now gone unpaid, according to the central bank, after stay orders that had long protected several large borrowers were lifted in recent months.

Seventeen lenders keep healthier balance sheets amid rising industry bad loans

Biannual report to BB shows Sonali Bank’s strong liquidity and asset quality

Scams and irregularities by S Alam Group pushed the shariah-based bank into crisis, as toxic assets continue to surface

The businesses are seeking repayment periods ranging from five to 15 years

BB data show that as of June, 222,341 cases involving Tk 407,435 crore were pending across the courts

The Hallmark scam was the largest loan scam involving Sonali Bank at that time

Governor says govt verbally approved Tk 5,000cr to pay depositors; Sammilito Islami Bank gets licence

Defaulted loans in the banking sector rose further to Tk 6.44 lakh crore, or nearly 36 percent of total disbursed loans, at the end of September, indicating the continued fragile state of the country’s financial sector.

Bank Asia plans to accelerate the expansion of retail and SME lending, strengthen its presence at home and abroad, widen its agent network, and continue leading digital innovation in the coming years. The private bank wants to expand SME and retail loans to at least 50 percent of the total portfolio within the next three years.

Today, fresh Tk 350 crore liquidity support approved for the to-be-merged banks, taking the total to Tk 35,300 crore

This is the highest bad loan ratio since 2000

NPLs reach their highest level since 2000, reflecting irresponsible lending, political influence under previous regime

Bangladesh Bank has not published the banking sector’s classified loan data for the April-June quarter even five months after it ended, leaving analysts without a clear picture of the sector’s condition.

The announcement came amid ongoing discussions over a proposed $20 million investment to reopen several Beximco Group factories.

AB Bank’s bad loans have ballooned to an unprecedented level, with nearly 84 percent of its total loans in default, a sign of severe financial distress caused by years of irregularities at the country’s first private commercial lender.

International payment card networks, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and UnionPay, might soon be required to register as companies in Bangladesh to continue operating here under new regulations drafted by the central bank.

The Bangladesh Bank has rejected Dutch-Bangla Bank’s proposal to purchase a Motijheel building for more than Tk 1,000 crore to use as its corporate headquarters, saying the price was significantly inflated and the deal posed a conflict of interest involving the bank chairman’s family.