City Bank posts record Tk 1,324 crore profit in 2025

City Bank PLC has reported its highest-ever profit of Tk 1,324 crore in 2025.

Despite a challenging economic environment, the bank registered an impressive 31% growth from Tk 1,014 crore in the previous year.

On a standalone basis, the bank earned Tk 1,306 crore, while its four subsidiary companies contributed an additional Tk 18 crore in net profit.

This remarkable growth was driven by a combination of strong income generation, disciplined cost management, and prudent risk practices.

Interest income from loans grew significantly by 24%, rising from Tk 4,403 crore to Tk 5,452 crore. The bank also improved its asset quality. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declined to 2.5% at the end of 2025, down from 3.7% a year earlier, reflecting robust credit risk management.

Despite persistent inflationary pressure, the bank maintained its cost of deposits at 5.5%. Although borrowing costs increased significantly during the year, the impact was effectively offset by strategic investments in high-yield government securities. As a result, the contribution of such investments to the total operating income of Tk 4,888 crore rose to 26%. Net investment income, after accounting for fund costs, stood at Tk 1,274 crore.

The bank also recorded the highest trade business volume among local banks at USD 8.01 billion, contributing to strong commission and fee income. Earnings from trade services amounted to Tk 526 crore, while retail banking and cards generated Tk 471 crore. Total fee and commission income, therefore, reached Tk 997 crore, representing 21% of the bank’s total operating income.

Cost efficiency remained a key strength. Despite inflation and the full-year impact of salary revisions implemented in December 2024, the bank successfully contained its cost-to-income ratio at 44%. Against a total income of Tk 4,888 crore, total costs stood at Tk 2,160 crore.

To further strengthen its financial resilience, the bank increased its provision expenses to Tk 815 crore, up from Tk 628 crore in the previous year. This strategic move enhanced the provision coverage ratio to a robust 128% by the end of 2025.

The bank’s Managing Director and CEO, Mashrur Arefin, expressed satisfaction with the performance, while noting that higher-than-average provisioning for bad debts prevented profit from reaching Tk 1,500 crore, which was his personal target.

He added, "Encouragingly, at City Bank, strong income is being generated across all core banking segments. Retail banking and cards have already overtaken corporate banking income, posting a 33% growth over the previous year. From a credit quality perspective, our small business loans, nano loans, retail loans, and credit card portfolios have performed exceptionally well. Our leadership in LC business and our ability to maintain the cost of deposits at 5.5% remain key strengths. That said, we do have concerns regarding our corporate and medium enterprise lending portfolios, given both domestic macroeconomic conditions and global factors."

He concluded saying, "Maintaining a cost-to-income ratio below 45% for a bank of 8,000 people has been, in my view, our most significant achievement."