Of the country’s 61 banks, 22 are operating with accumulated losses. As of March, their combined accumulated losses stood at Tk 2.54 trillion.
The information was disclosed yesterday, Sunday, in a report submitted by Bangladesh Bank to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance. The report outlined the current state of the country’s banking sector.
According to the report, the banking sector recorded operating profits of Tk 7.89 billion as of March 2026. However, the sector’s net loss stood at Tk 84.17 billion.
Among the banks incurring losses are four state-owned commercial banks—Janata Bank, Agrani Bank, Rupali Bank and BASIC Bank. There are six state-owned banks in total.
Two specialised banks—Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB)—are also facing losses. One foreign bank, National Bank of Pakistan, is also operating at a loss.
The other 15 banks facing losses are privately owned. They are AB Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, EXIM Bank, First Security Islami Bank, ICB Islamic Bank, IFIC Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Meghna Bank, National Bank, Global Islami Bank, Padma Bank, Shimanto Bank, Social Islami Bank, Premier Bank and Union Bank.
Bangladesh Bank told the parliamentary committee that a high volume of classified loans, mainly non-performing loans, along with the need for provisioning, capital shortfalls and weak asset quality are negatively affecting the earning capacity of banks. As a result, many banks are ending up with net losses after operating profits are adjusted for these factors.
Agrani Bank Chairman Syed Abu Naser Bakhtiar told Prothom Alo that the problems created by irregularities and corruption during the 15 years of the Awami League government could not be resolved so quickly. The losses are a result of those problems, he said, adding that efforts are being made to overcome them.
Nine of the 12 privately owned loss-making banks—excluding AB Bank, ICB Islamic Bank and Shimanto Bank—were controlled by leaders of the Awami League government, which was ousted in the July mass uprising, and businesspeople close to them. At the time, the banks were plagued by widespread irregularities and the siphoning out of money in the name of loans.
The volume of defaulted loans in the banking sector has also risen amid the widespread irregularities. Bangladesh Bank told the parliamentary committee that as of 30 June, defaulted loans stood at Tk 6.07 trillion, or about 33 per cent of total loans.
Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank’s Dhaka office, was asked whether having 22 banks operating at a loss was healthy for the economy. He told Prothom Alo that it was not healthy at all. One way of assessing the health of the banking sector is to look at the rate of defaulted loans. In this case, he said, one-third of all loans have become classified as non-performing, while more than one-third of the banks are operating at a loss.
Zahid Hussain said the problems at some banks had also created a situation in which public confidence in financial institutions was being undermined.
Tk 850 billion in liquidity support
Bangladesh Bank told the parliamentary committee that, as of March, 15 banks had failed to maintain the minimum required capital. As of 27 September, 12 banks had received nearly Tk 850 billion in liquidity support.
When a bank faces a shortage of cash, it can seek emergency assistance from Bangladesh Bank, which then provides liquidity support.
The central bank said it had provided Tk 158.10 billion in emergency liquidity support to First Security Islami Bank, Tk 108.43 billion to Social Islami Bank, Tk 120.10 billion to EXIM Bank, Tk 105.68 billion to National Bank, Tk 54.21 billion to Union Bank, Tk 30.04 billion to Global Islami Bank, Tk 42.70 billion to AB Bank, Tk 6.15 billion to Bangladesh Commerce Bank, Tk 2.52 billion to ICB Islamic Bank, Tk 2.52 billion to Padma Bank, Tk 49 billion to Premier Bank and Tk 170 billion to Islami Bank Bangladesh. However, the report did not specify over how many years the support had been provided.
According to sources familiar with the matter, committee member Hasnat Abdullah, an MP from the National Citizens Party (NCP), presented a reform proposal at the meeting aimed at permanently preventing defaulted loans. Jamaat-e-Islami MP Saiful Alam submitted a written proposal on behalf of his party for reforming the banking sector.
Sources said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told the meeting that it was the government’s responsibility to be accountable to the parliamentary committee. The government would not hide anything, he said. Many people want to become bank directors or chairmen, but there is no scope for politicising the economy.
After the meeting, committee member Saiful Alam told journalists that they had proposed reducing the number of banks. A small country like Bangladesh does not need so many banks, he said.
The meeting was chaired by committee chairman Mushfiqur Rahman. Among other committee members who attended were Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, Jalal Uddin, Moinul Islam Khan, Shafikur Rahman and Syed Zainul Abedin.