Banks cut CSR spending by 80% in five years

Banks have sharply cut spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as financial difficulties have reduced the capacity of many lenders to contribute, while some have been simply unable to make any contribution amid losses.

In the January-June period of this year, the banking sector spent Tk 119 crore on CSR, down from Tk 615 crore in the same period of 2022, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.

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CSR spending by banks stood at Tk 571 crore in the first half of 2023, Tk 309 crore in 2024 and Tk 150 crore in the first half of 2025, according to BB data.

Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed, managing director and CEO of Jamuna Bank, said many banks have seen their profits decline, while a good number of lenders have incurred losses. This may have contributed to the fall in CSR spending.

Elias said the banking sector is not performing well overall, and CSR spending has declined as a result.

In 2025, the banking sector recorded a net loss of Tk 136,000 crore, as a surge in bad loans wiped out income across much of the industry, according to a BB report.

Bankers attributed the downturn to a sharp rise in non-performing loans (NPLs), driven by years of lending irregularities, financial fraud and political interference in the sector.

A central bank official said many irregularities have taken place in CSR spending during the previous Awami League government.

“Money was withdrawn from this sector and disbursed at the direction of politically influential quarters, including the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund,” he said. “Such practices have now declined. Besides, the financial condition of banks is also not good, which is why CSR spending has fallen.”

BB data showed that banks’ CSR spending in the January-June period of this year is also nearly 40 percent lower than in the previous six months. Banks spent Tk 197.85 crore on CSR in the July-December period of 2025.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, told The Daily Star that the capacity of many banks to spend on CSR has declined, while some are unable to make such expenditures because of losses.

“Besides, CSR spending was previously largely directed towards the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, and initiatives centred around the Prime Minister’s Office, which is now non-existent,” added Mahbubur.

In the first half of this year, the health sector received Tk 34.66 crore, or 29.11 percent, of total CSR spending, while education received Tk 24.13 crore, or 20.27 percent. Environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation received Tk 11.72 crore, or 9.84 percent.

The remaining Tk 48.53 crore, or 40.77 percent, went to “other” areas, led by disaster management, which received Tk 34.34 crore, or 28.85 percent. This included contributions to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and winter blanket distribution.

Compared with the previous six months, spending on education fell 45.74 percent, health 39.74 percent and environment 59.99 percent, while spending on “other” areas rose 3.70 percent.