A scammer dies, but the rot in Bangladesh’s banks lives on
The Hallmark scam was the largest loan scam involving Sonali Bank at that time
1 December 2025, 13:53 PM
BB board clears winding up of nine non-banks
Governor says govt verbally approved Tk 5,000cr to pay depositors; Sammilito Islami Bank gets licence
30 November 2025, 18:00 PM
Bad loans continue to break records
Defaulted loans in the banking sector rose further to Tk 6.44 lakh crore, or nearly 36 percent of total disbursed loans, at the end of September, indicating the continued fragile state of the country’s financial sector.
26 November 2025, 18:10 PM
Bank Asia ramps up retail-SME drive, bets on digital banking
Bank Asia plans to accelerate the expansion of retail and SME lending, strengthen its presence at home and abroad, widen its agent network, and continue leading digital innovation in the coming years. The private bank wants to expand SME and retail loans to at least 50 percent of the total portfolio within the next three years.
26 November 2025, 18:00 PM
Bank merger: employees to face salary, benefit cuts
Today, fresh Tk 350 crore liquidity support approved for the to-be-merged banks, taking the total to Tk 35,300 crore
26 November 2025, 15:42 PM
Defaulted loans double to a record Tk 6.44 lakh crore in a year
This is the highest bad loan ratio since 2000
26 November 2025, 09:31 AM
Default loans hit 34%, highest in 25 years
NPLs reach their highest level since 2000, reflecting irresponsible lending, political influence under previous regime
25 November 2025, 19:29 PM
BB yet to release Q2 bad loan data
Bangladesh Bank has not published the banking sector’s classified loan data for the April-June quarter even five months after it ended, leaving analysts without a clear picture of the sector’s condition.
24 November 2025, 19:40 PM
Three banks seek BB guarantee for Tk 6,800cr liquidity support
National Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh and Social Islami Bank have applied to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) for its guarantee to avail a total of Tk 6,800 crore in liquidity support through the inter-bank money market for a period of three months.
11 September 2024, 18:00 PM
Global lenders to finance banking reforms
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank are expected to provide funds to Bangladesh for banking sector reforms, including strengthening and modernising the central bank.
10 September 2024, 18:00 PM
BB in $450m shady trade with Islami Bank to rebuild reserves
In the first week of July, the Bangladesh Bank and Islami Bank Bangladesh completed a US dollar-taka trade, a typical mutual currency deal, which was supposed to replenish the central bank’s dwindling forex reserves and provide the cash-strapped Shariah-based lender with some liquidity support.
4 September 2024, 18:00 PM
BB in $450m shady trade with Islami bank to rebuild reserves
In the first week of July, the Bangladesh Bank and Islami Bank Bangladesh completed a US dollar-taka trade, a typical mutual currency deal, which was supposed to replenish the central bank’s dwindling forex reserves and provide the cash-strapped Shariah-based lender with some liquidity support.<
4 September 2024, 16:20 PM
Default loans surpass Tk 200,000cr for first time
Default loans in the banking system surpassed Tk 200,000 crore for the first time, underlining the fragile condition of the sector that fell prey to rampant scams and irregularities under the tenure of the Awami League government over the past 16 years.
3 September 2024, 18:00 PM
Default loans hit record Tk 211,000cr
Default loans in the banking sector hit an all-time high of Tk 211,000 crore at the end of June of this year, as per the latest Bangladesh Bank data.
3 September 2024, 12:19 PM
BB’s strange bid to save Orion plant
Three state-run banks far exceeded their limits to salvage a coal-fired power plant project of an Orion Group subsidiary, which was stalled for six years, with Tk 10,579 crore in loans thanks to policy relaxation by the Bangladesh Bank under the now-ousted Sheikh Hasina government.
2 September 2024, 18:00 PM
Assess loan exposure to influential people
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has instructed the recently restructured banks to identify and assess their loan exposure to politically exposed and important persons as they might fail to repay the loans.
2 September 2024, 18:00 PM
How Islami Bank was taken over ‘at gunpoint’
Islami Bank, the largest private bank by deposits in 2017, was a lucrative target for Sheikh Hasina’s cronies when an influential business group with her blessing occupied it by force – a “perfect robbery” in Bangladesh’s banking history.
31 August 2024, 18:00 PM
Fixing boards of ailing banks is first step for good governance
Reconstituting the board of directors of ailing banks is the first step towards bringing good governance and discipline to the banking sector, according to Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur.
29 August 2024, 18:00 PM
The long, dark past of UCB
The central bank has just reconstituted the board of United Commercial Bank (UCB) for financial wrongdoings, but it has a darker past – a takeover at gunpoint by a politically influential family over a quarter of a century ago.
28 August 2024, 18:00 PM
S Alam barred from fund transfer, cashout, LC opening
The Bangladesh Bank yesterday instructed six S Alam-owned banks to stop any money going out of the accounts in the name of the Chattogram-based business giant, its associates’ companies and related persons.
26 August 2024, 18:00 PM
Orion Pharma’s Tk 132cr loan rescheduled with special approval
Orion Pharma Ltd, a pharmaceutical company of Orion Group, has been provided a rescheduling facility on a forced/demand loan by state-run Agrani Bank with special approval from the Bangladesh Bank.
26 August 2024, 18:00 PM
BB appoints administrator at Nagad
The Bangladesh Bank yesterday appointed an administrator to Nagad after one too many allegations of irregularities in the mobile financial service provider’s operations and dealings.
21 August 2024, 18:00 PM
Islami Bank finally freed from S Alam Group
After seven years, S Alam Group’s control over Islami Bank ended yesterday after the Bangladesh Bank decided to dissolve the board of the country’s largest private sector bank that was heavily dominated by individuals linked to the conglomerate.
21 August 2024, 18:00 PM
S Alam group, associates: Tk 95,000cr loans taken from 6 banks
S Alam Group and its associate companies took out Tk 95,331 crore between 2017 and June this year from six banks, with 79 percent of the sum coming from Islami Bank.
19 August 2024, 18:00 PM
Six banks still in shortfall despite BB support
Six banks including four Shariah-based ones are still facing a deficit in their current accounts with the central bank despite special liquidity support.
18 August 2024, 21:00 PM
Sonali Bank asked to show Orion’s loan as defaulted
The Bangladesh Bank instructed state-run Sonali Bank to classify the Tk 106 crore loans taken by Orion Infrastructure Ltd as defaulted since the client repeatedly failed to repay on time.
18 August 2024, 18:00 PM
S Alam drains Janata branch dry
As much as 90 percent of the loans disbursed by a branch of state-run Janata Bank was for S Alam Group, in yet another instance of how the Chattogram-based business giant exerted its influence on the country’s banking sector.
17 August 2024, 18:00 PM
Loans from Janata, NBL: S Alam, Nassa got Tk 2,544cr waiver in breach of rules
Chattogram-based conglomerate S Alam Group and garment manufacturer Nassa Group were given interest waivers amounting to Tk 2,544 crore bypassing banking rules, in a testament to the outsize influence oligarchs had on the banking sector during the Awami League-led government of the past 15 years.
15 August 2024, 18:00 PM