Md Mehedi Hasan

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.

Standard Bank is mired in internal conflict as its bad loans rise to nearly a third of total lending, exposing governance problems at the shariah based lender already under scrutiny by the central bank, show documents. 

Once the country’s largest trading hotspot, the wholesale market is now losing its old rhythm amid cash crises, loan scams, crumbling infrastructure

Sammilito Islami Bank, the proposed largest shariah-based state-owned bank set to be formed through the merger of five troubled banks, got the preliminary approval from the Bangladesh Bank yesterday.

Tea breaks, the perks of a bike ride.

Once the new bank is launched, depositors will get a maximum of Tk 2 lakh from the deposit insurance fund.

Key players not ready

As it enters 27th year, the bank is focusing on digitalisation and maintaining its reputation for trust

BB said the matter would be reviewed on whether the subsidiary achieves profitability by June 2026

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.

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.

Nine non-banks set for liquidation owe Tk 15,370cr to savers

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.

The five banks slated for consolidation are First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and Exim Bank.

Central bank approves private entities to run credit bureaus

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.

Between 13 July and August, the central bank bought $948 million from commercial banks through seven auctions

Low development spending leads to a sharp decline in government borrowing