An economy cannot maintain credit discipline when offenders are repeatedly rewarded rather than punished. When such rewards become the norm, borrowers start to feel less obligated to repay.

Bad loans in the country’s banking sector have surpassed Tk 6 lakh crore once again despite a series of policy support measures for defaulted borrowers, indicating the fragile state of the sector.

It seems like Bangladesh Bank just can’t say no to a bad debt. Since September 2025, it has been rolling out loan-restructuring extensions like clockwork -- once in a quarter -- always leaning on the same comforting buzzwords like “distressed but viable”, “genuine borrowers”, and “policy support”.

Finance ministry tells mission new pay scale starts in July

BB banks on legal reforms, tighter supervision and global standards

Interest-free facility will be in force till Dec 31

Proposes draft law after banking woes identified as obstacle to $1tn economy ambition

Regulatory forbearance, systemic evergreening of bad debt must end

Total outstanding loans stood at Tk 1,824,668 crore

As per BB’s order, the bank’s total exposure to a single borrower or group is restricted to 25 percent of its capital.

State-owned Janata Bank has issued an auction notice to sell the assets of Globe Janakantha, including the 15-storey Janakantha Bhaban in the capital, as it seeks to recover Tk 215 crore in defaulted loans

Some investors of six liquidating non-banks have already died, while others struggle with medical bills, as families face uncertain future

The top 20 loan defaulters whose names were disclosed yesterday in parliament owe more than Tk 35,000 crore, with the majority of the companies belonging to the controversial S Alam Group.

The top 20 loan defaulters account for 63 percent of the defaulted loans in six state-owned banks, prompting the government to order specific roadmaps for recovery.

Defaulted loans in the banking sector fell to around 31 percent at the end of last year, down from around 36 percent three months earlier, following large-scale loan rescheduling under a special policy support of the central bank.

Defaulted loans at the country’s non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) have surged to a record 37 percent, highlighting the sector’s fragile condition.

The rise reflects growing stress in the overall financial sector

The jump in bad loans forced the commercial lender to make heavy provisions

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has set a target to reduce non-performing loans (NPLs) to 25 percent from the current 36 percent by March, according to senior bankers.

Nearly three out of every four taka lent by National Bank has now gone unpaid, according to the central bank, after stay orders that had long protected several large borrowers were lifted in recent months.