85% of default loans concentrated in just 15 banks
6 hour(s) ago
Fifteen of the country’s 61 banks accounted for as much as 85 percent of defaulted loans as of March, according to central bank data, highlighting how loan irregularities, fraud and financial scams have become concentrated in a small group of commercial lenders.
6 hour(s) ago
After initial rejection, Bangladesh Bank reconsiders MGI's $80m IFC loan
4 June 2026, 20:40 PM
The Bangladesh Bank is now reconsidering an application by Meghna Group of Industries to obtain an $80 million loan from the International Finance Corporation for the purchase of four ships, after initially turning it down.
4 June 2026, 20:40 PM
NPLs up by Tk 31,487cr in just three months
3 June 2026, 00:00 AM
Nearly 94% of non-performing loans are classified as bad or loss, signalling weak repayment discipline among large borrowers
3 June 2026, 00:00 AM
ATM booths run dry on first day of weeklong holiday
26 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Many ATM (Automated Teller Machine) booths in Dhaka either ran out of cash or went out of service yesterday, the first day of the weeklong Eid holiday, raising fears of a worsening cash crunch during the festival period.
26 May 2026, 00:00 AM
People face cash shortages, withdrawal limits at ATM booths
25 May 2026, 15:10 PM
Customers in several areas of Dhaka on Sunday and Monday found ATM services of many banks unavailable
25 May 2026, 15:10 PM
Most default loans are wilful, strong laws can recover 60%
25 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Private commercial banks need stronger legal backing rather than financial support in the next national budget to restore confidence in the banking sector and protect depositors, according to the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB).
25 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Tk 60,000cr stimulus for private sector
24 May 2026, 00:00 AM
BB rolls out biggest package since Covid to restart closed factories, boost employment
24 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Private credit growth hits historic low. What does it mean?
21 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Private sector credit growth fell to 4.72 percent -- a record low -- in March, marking another month of slowdown.
21 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Internet outage, curfew: Default loans to soar, banks’ profit to dip
Bankers are dreading a big drop in their profits as their defaulted loans are likely to increase further due to the curfew and the five-day internet blackout.
27 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Is Islamic finance facing headwinds?
Rabiul Islam, a practising Muslim who works at a private organisation, refrained from conventional banking services for many years as both paying and receiving interest are against his religious principles.
26 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Remittance collection disrupted
The internet blackout for five days has affected remittance collection through banks and mobile financial services (MFS), which may put pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
25 July 2024, 18:00 PM
Banks waive penalty for delayed loan repayment
Some banks have decided not to impose any interest or fees on clients for delayed payment of loan instalments, including that against credit cards, amidst a nationwide curfew and internet blackout.
23 July 2024, 18:00 PM
ATM services, digital banking disrupted
Online banking, ATM and digital payment services including money transfers and utility bill payments continued to be disrupted yesterday amid the ongoing internet blackout across the country since Thursday.
20 July 2024, 18:00 PM
BB keeps key policy rate unchanged but signals further tightening
Despite suggestions for a policy rate hike from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and economists, the central bank of Bangladesh has kept unchanged the major tool of its monetary policy at 8.5 percent although inflation is running high.
18 July 2024, 18:00 PM
BB to keep policy rates high to curb inflation
Bangladesh Bank is going to unveil the monetary policy for the first half of fiscal year 2024-25 tomorrow and is expected to retain its tight monetary stance as its foremost target is to bring down the spiralling inflation.
16 July 2024, 18:00 PM
A country where loan defaulters are rewarded!
All over the world, strict actions are taken against loan defaulters, with many countries imposing travel bans and seeking legal recourse. In Bangladesh, however, defaulters get mega-discounts.
14 July 2024, 18:00 PM
NBFIs’ bad loans surge to a record Tk 23,208 crore
Defaulted loans at non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) soared 38 percent to a record Tk 23,208.7 crore at the end of 2023, raising concerns over the sector’s deteriorating health.
11 July 2024, 18:00 PM
BB signals further monetary tightening as inflation rages
The central bank has signalled that it would go for more tightening of the monetary policy since inflationary pressure shows no signs of cooling.
11 July 2024, 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