Ahsan Habib

Although most non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Bangladesh are struggling with a high rate of non-performing loans (NPLs), some of them are bucking the trend by maintaining a lower ratio.

All of the listed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Bangladesh that published their financial reports for the January-June period of the current calendar year reported lower earnings due to reduced interest income, among other reasons.

Seven months have passed since the world bid adieu to 2022, but almost half of the listed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Bangladesh have not published their financial statements for the year, breaching securities rules. 

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh witnessed an 85 percent year-on-year jump in non-performing loans in 2021-22 as borrowers struggled to pay back owing to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic slowdown, official figures showed.  

Nine foreign banks operating in Bangladesh hardly invest in the stock market owing largely to irregularities, speculation-driven investments and an inadequate number of well-performing companies that have gone public.  

Deposit growth of shariah-based banks in Bangladesh plunged in 2022 mainly due to lower confidence among savers after a number of scams in the sector were unearthed by the central bank.

The stock market of Bangladesh has been going through a bad patch for a year due to the presence of floor price, with political and macroeconomic uncertainties worsening the situation. 

Bangladesh’s economy has been growing at a striking rate in the last one decade on the back of low-paid workers in the manufacturing and service sectors but innovation has played insignificant role behind the development journey.

The combined profits of 35 listed banks in Bangladesh dropped 9 percent year-on-year to Tk 4,160 crore during the first half of 2023 as volatility in the country’s foreign exchange market has curbed their commissions from forex dealings.

Banks’ investments of more than Tk 16,000 crore have remained almost stuck in the stock market for the last one year owing to a thin presence of buyers amid the floor price, which has hit lenders’ bottom line and brought down their liquid assets.

Claim settlement in the insurance sector in Bangladesh stood at 67 percent in 2022, highlighting bad investments and non-compliance that prevented insurers from attaining a higher ratio, data from the regulator showed.

Bangladesh’s life insurance sector has always struggled in claim settlement, but the sector still has some good companies who are bearing the torch for all with faster fund repayment and good corporate governance.

A number of life insurance companies in Bangladesh struggled to settle claims in 2022 due to a lack of liquidity resulting from bad investments and fund embezzlement by their chairmen and directors.

Most of the listed multinational companies operating in Bangladesh witnessed higher profits and sales in the April-to-June quarter despite persisting economic challenges at home and abroad, inflationary pressures and higher raw materials prices.

Once, the banking sector was meant for physical presence in the branch, and waiting in a long queue to deposit and withdraw funds.

FBCCI president says

To diversify export destinations, Bangladesh needs to take up a comprehensive plan and coordinate efforts focusing on every country that bears potential, said Md Fazlul Hoque, former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The government awarded licences to set up new nine banks in 2013 despite criticism from analysts and economists and initial reservations from the central bank since the number of lenders was already high in Bangladesh and approvals were largely given on political consideration.

Bangladesh and India began settling cross-border trades in the Indian rupee (INR) last week, a development that has been hailed as a landmark for the growing bilateral commerce in general and for Bangladesh in particular.  

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