Rescheduling of default loans fell to a seven-year low in 2021, riding on a moratorium extended by the Bangladesh Bank to protect borrowers from the economic shocks arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank is planning to sweep the bulging stressed assets under the rug when it publishes its annual financial stability report in April such that it can paint a rosy picture of the banking sector.

Banks' non-performing loans hit nearly Tk 1 lakh crore at the end of September -- the largest yet in Bangladesh's 48-year-history.

As many as 60 percent of the banks listed on the stock exchanges have seen their profits tumble in the third quarter of the year