Md Mehedi Hasan

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) today reconstituted the board of directors of three private commercial banks. 

Credit appetite of the local private firms continues to fizzle out as the ongoing battle against inflation makes bank borrowing more expensive amid a volatile political climate after the August political changeover.  

Defaulted loans in the country’s banking sector reached a record Tk 3,45,765 crore at the end of 2024 as toxic loans increased sharply following the political changeover in August last year.

“Mansur is a knowledgeable and well-intentioned governor, but given the sector’s sensitivity, he should exercise extreme caution in his public remarks”

Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Nassa Group and a close associate of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, holds assets worth £43.23 million or about Tk 656 crore in the UK, according to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit.

A meeting between BFIU and managing directors of the banks made the decision

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has uncovered serious irregularities at Al-Arafah Islami Bank, including misuse of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.

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

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has maintained its tight monetary policy stance for the second half of the current fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 to tame the stubbornly high inflation. 

Janata Bank’s defaulted loans surged to a record Tk 67,300 crore by the end of last year, as politically exposed persons and business conglomerates became defaulters following the recent political changeover, reflecting the fragile condition of the state-run bank.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Nassa Group and a close associate of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has been accused of trade-based money laundering amounting to Tk 16,000 crore by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit.

Padma Bank, formerly Farmers Bank, has sunk into such a financial abyss that the lender is struggling to pay its employees’ monthly salaries and has sought a Tk 5,000 crore bailout package from Bangladesh Bank to stay afloat.

Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) is expanding its digital services to cater to Generation Z while diversifying its loan portfolio to reduce its concentration in wholesale lending.

The government’s net bank borrowing has risen sharply due to lacklustre tax collection, slow private sector credit growth and the overall economic slowdown since the political changeover in August last year.

Samadhan Services Limited, a concern of Grameen Telecom, has at last gained ground in its effort to become a payment service provider (PSP) in Bangladesh.

The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh fell to $104.33 million in the July-September quarter of fiscal year 2024-25, the lowest in at least six years, as foreign investors stayed away from Bangladesh amid deadly political unrest, labour agitation, and a persistent economic crisis.

Bangladesh Bank has officially given the green light for banks to trade foreign currency at freely negotiated rates, but there’s a catch. An unofficially imposed mechanism has upset the foreign exchange market, undermining the intent of liberalisation.

Md Asadul Islam, former senior secretary of the Financial Institutions Division of the finance ministry, is still serving as chairman of Sonali Bangladesh UK Ltd, a subsidiary of state-run Sonali Bank, despite retiring from government service in 2021.

The banking regulator found the involvement of Md Abdul Jalil, independent director and executive committee chairman of the bank, in the loan irregularities.

Defaulted loans at the country’s non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) reached a record 36 percent of all loans disbursed by them as of September 2024, a level that sector people described as a reflection of “massive irregularities and scams” seven to eight years ago.