Bad loans

Banks’ CSR spending drops as bad loans surge

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending by Bangladesh’s banks nearly halved in the first half of 2025 amid rising bad loans, according to Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) half-yearly report on CSR activities of scheduled banks and non-bank financial institutions.

Distressed loans surge to Tk 7.56 lakh cr

Banking sector's asset quality declines as distressed loans balloon to Tk 7.56 lakh crore

Audits expose hidden bad loans at 6 Islamic banks

The reviews, initiated in January with backing from the ADB, expose deep-seated financial mismanagement at those banks

Part 4: Inside Banking / 21 banks bucked rising bad loan trend in 2024

Twenty-one banks managed to keep their bad loan ratios under 5 percent of their total lending, even amid turbulence last year that rattled the sector and eventually pushed up the industry average of bad loans to 16.8 percent.

Ten banks hold 71% of total bad loans

Just ten banks, both state-owned and private, account for 71 percent of all non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country’s banking sector.

A staggering increase in default loans

Central bank must strive to improve banking sector’s health

Bad loans hit record Tk 420,355cr

Bad loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector hit a record Tk 420,335 crore at the end of March as a clearer picture of the toxic loan is coming to light following the political changeover in August last year.

Bad loans at scam-hit banks surge after political changeover

At the end of last year, defaulted loans in the banking sector stood at Tk 345,765 crore, with those state-run and private commercial banks holding the majority. 

What does high default loan mean for the economy?

At the end of 2024, one-fifth of the total loans in the banking sector turned sour, mainly as the true extent of embezzlement by willful defaulters is now coming to light.

June 16, 2025
June 16, 2025

Bad loans hit record Tk 420,355cr

Bad loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector hit a record Tk 420,335 crore at the end of March as a clearer picture of the toxic loan is coming to light following the political changeover in August last year.

March 19, 2025
March 19, 2025

Bad loans at scam-hit banks surge after political changeover

At the end of last year, defaulted loans in the banking sector stood at Tk 345,765 crore, with those state-run and private commercial banks holding the majority. 

March 2, 2025
March 2, 2025

What does high default loan mean for the economy?

At the end of 2024, one-fifth of the total loans in the banking sector turned sour, mainly as the true extent of embezzlement by willful defaulters is now coming to light.

January 7, 2025
January 7, 2025

NBFIs’ bad loans surge to record Tk 26,163cr

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.

December 18, 2024
December 18, 2024

Six private banks see bad loans nearly triple in a year

Defaulted loans at six private commercial banks nearly tripled in one year till September 2024, according to central bank data, which bankers term “alarming”.

December 8, 2024
December 8, 2024

State sponsored dis-equalising factors

The state itself had deepened inequality as it “sponsored dis-equalising factors”, exempting corporations from taxes and helping banks with liquidity for years on end only to benefit the elite, said Prof Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, yesterday.

November 28, 2024
November 28, 2024

BB tightens loan classification rules to meet IMF conditions

Payment failure for three months or 90 days after the due date will now lead to classification of loans regardless of type, according to new rules announced by the central bank yesterday, aligning with international best practices prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

November 21, 2024
November 21, 2024

How some non-banks tamed bad loans

When most non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Bangladesh are in hot water with high ratios of non-performing loan (NPL), a handful have been successfully able to keep the rate low.

November 18, 2024
November 18, 2024

Bad loans hit alarming record

Awami League-affiliated businesses had already put the country’s banking sector in trouble with huge bad debts, but the loans disbursed through irregularities to these companies turned sour even at a more alarming pace after the party’s ouster.

November 6, 2024
November 6, 2024

A third of NBFIs hold over 73% of bad loans

Twelve non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) out of a total 35 are holding nearly 73.5 percent of the sector’s bad loans, according to Bangladesh Bank data, reflecting a precarious situation at those entities.