A scammer dies, but the rot in Bangladesh’s banks lives on
The Hallmark scam was the largest loan scam involving Sonali Bank at that time
1 December 2025, 13:53 PM
BB board clears winding up of nine non-banks
Governor says govt verbally approved Tk 5,000cr to pay depositors; Sammilito Islami Bank gets licence
30 November 2025, 18:00 PM
Bad loans continue to break records
26 November 2025, 18:10 PM
News
Bank Asia ramps up retail-SME drive, bets on digital banking
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.
26 November 2025, 18:00 PM
Bank merger: employees to face salary, benefit cuts
Today, fresh Tk 350 crore liquidity support approved for the to-be-merged banks, taking the total to Tk 35,300 crore
26 November 2025, 15:42 PM
Defaulted loans double to a record Tk 6.44 lakh crore in a year
This is the highest bad loan ratio since 2000
26 November 2025, 09:31 AM
Default loans hit 34%, highest in 25 years
NPLs reach their highest level since 2000, reflecting irresponsible lending, political influence under previous regime
25 November 2025, 19:29 PM
BB yet to release Q2 bad loan data
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.
24 November 2025, 19:40 PM
Banks sell dollar at more than Tk 118 as pressure mounts
The chief executives of at least three private commercial banks told The Daily Star that the BB had verbally allowed them to quote Tk 1 more than the exchange rate to collect US dollars amid the ongoing forex crunch.
23 May 2024, 00:49 AM
ICB Islamic Bank struggling to pay back depositors
ICB Islamic Bank, which took shape from the ruins of Oriental Bank in 2008, is now failing to repay the depositors’ money due to severe liquidity crisis, indicating a vulnerable situation of the lender.
18 May 2024, 18:00 PM
No let-up in reserves slide
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have been falling since September 2021 despite a series of government initiatives to reverse the trend.
16 May 2024, 18:00 PM
Yield on treasury bills climbs to a record 12% as govt borrowing intensifies
Currently, the government is borrowing heavily from commercial banks using the tool as the central bank has suspended injecting fresh money into the economy to avoid fuelling inflation, which has stayed above 9 percent for the past 20 months.
15 May 2024, 01:52 AM
Pressure mounts as currency outflow intensifies
The deficit in the financial account stood at $9.25 billion in July-March of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh Bank data showed. It was $2.92 billion in the first nine months of the previous fiscal year and $8.46 billion in July-February of 2023-24.
14 May 2024, 00:59 AM
Banks go slow in raising interest rates even after BB cedes control
The interest rates on consumer loans, forced loans and overdue loans are likely to go up rapidly in the upcoming months, however.
13 May 2024, 00:47 AM
No headway in curbing banks’ bad assets
The FID later backtracked following criticism from different quarters, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), about the formation of a public corporation since state enterprises have usually underperformed in the country.
12 May 2024, 00:30 AM
Withdrawals put BASIC Bank in liquidity crisis
BASIC Bank is experiencing a deep liquidity crunch as depositors have been withdrawing money for weeks following news that the state-run lender is going to be acquired by a private commercial bank.
11 May 2024, 18:00 PM
Sikder family loses grip on National Bank
The Sikder family has apparently lost its grip on National Bank Ltd as Bangladesh Bank has appointed a new board for the country’s first private bank.
6 May 2024, 18:00 PM
BB likely to discard SMART formula as interest rate surges
In July last year, the central bank withdrew the 9 percent lending rate cap and introduced the Six-months Moving Average Rate of Treasury bills (SMART).
5 May 2024, 00:00 AM
Where should I invest my money?
Amid persistently higher inflation in Bangladesh for more than a year, the low- and middle-income groups are struggling to meet their daily expenses.
3 May 2024, 18:00 PM
Govt's bank borrowing rises sharply in July-April
From last July to April 22 this year, government loans from commercial banks amounted to Tk 65,432 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank. In the same 10 months or so of fiscal year 2022-23, it was only Tk 5,334 crore.
29 April 2024, 00:17 AM
Bank mergers far from voluntary
In fact, the reactions of the associated bankers and directors, circumstances centring the meetings where the decisions were taken alongside protests in one case confirmed that these had been decided by the government and relayed through the central bank.
28 April 2024, 00:20 AM
Basic, National Bank Mergers: People withdrawing money in panic
A recent rush to withdraw money from the BASIC Bank and National Bank is worsening the situation the troubled institutions are facing.
20 April 2024, 18:00 PM
Anontex Loans: Janata in deep trouble as BB digs up scams
Bangladesh Bank has ordered Janata Bank to cancel the Tk 3,359 crore interest waiver facility the lender had allowed to AnonTex Group, after an audit found forgeries and scams involving the loans.
18 April 2024, 18:00 PM
Bank Asia to take over Bank Alfalah’s Bangladesh unit
Bank Asia is likely to acquire the Bangladesh operations of Karachi-based Bank Alfalah, according to information disclosed to the Pakistan Stock Exchange yesterday.
17 April 2024, 18:00 PM
Bank Asia plans to acquire Bank Alfalah’s Bangladesh unit
Bank Asia is going to hold a meeting of its board of directors next Sunday and is likely to disclose the mater in detail, a senior official of Bank Asia said.
17 April 2024, 12:44 PM
BB's support helping banks avert pre-Eid liquidity crunch
Although banks in the country normally face a liquidity shortage due to cash withdrawals ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr each year, a majority of them have sufficient funds on hand this time around thanks to continuous liquidity support from Bangladesh Bank.
7 April 2024, 01:30 AM
News Analysis: BB’s feeble fight against loan defaulters
The central bank has already unveiled a framework to address vulnerabilities in the banking sector, rein in non-performing loans (NPLs) and punish wilful defaulters.
5 April 2024, 02:00 AM
Forex reserves keep eroding despite currency swap
Under the currency swap agreements introduced last month, the banking regulator took $1.17 billion from commercial banks and injected around Tk 20,000 crore in the form of local currencies into the banking system, according to several central bankers.
29 March 2024, 00:11 AM