10 banks rated sustainable in BB’s 2024 evaluation

Ten private commercial banks and two financial institutions have been rated as sustainable financial institutions in the Bangladesh Bank's Sustainability Finance Report 2024.

The top-rated banks this year are BRAC Bank, City Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Eastern Bank, Jamuna Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, NCC Bank, Prime Bank, Pubali Bank, and Shahjalal Islami Bank.

Among them, BRAC Bank, City Bank, Eastern Bank, Jamuna Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, and Prime Bank also featured in the 2023 rankings.

In contrast, Exim Bank, Trust Bank, United Commercial Bank, and Uttara Bank—previously ranked in 2023—have dropped off the list in 2024.

Among financial institutions, IDLC Finance and IPDC Finance retained their places in the sustainability rankings for the second consecutive year.

The central bank evaluates banks and financial institutions based on five key indicators: the Sustainable Finance Index, CSR activities, green project financing, the Core Banking Sustainability Index, and Banking Services Coverage.

Core Banking Sustainability and Banking Services Coverage jointly account for around 60 percent of the total score.

Banks with strong risk management, healthy capital adequacy, and low non-performing loans receive higher scores under these metrics.

Specifically, the Core Banking Sustainability score considers the net NPL ratio, Tier-1 capital to risk-weighted assets, provision maintenance, CMSME loan share, and large-loan portfolio exposure.

The Services Coverage component, weighted at about 10 percent, evaluates reach through branch networks, number of deposit and loan accounts, and agent banking outlets.

Bangladesh Bank first introduced the sustainability rating system in 2020 to encourage financial institutions to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their operations.