The amount of defaulted loans at state-owned banks has risen to about Tk 188,701.75 crore. The government is implementing various short-, medium- and long-term plans to reduce defaulted loans and restore discipline in the banking sector.
Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury gave the information on Sunday (July 12) in reply to a supplementary question from reserved-seat member of parliament Sabikunnahar, on the 23rd working day of the second, and first budget, session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
At the session, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram, the finance minister said the figure had been prepared on the basis of information sent by nine state-owned banks to Bangladesh Bank’s CIB database as of May 31.
The banks are Agrani Bank PLC, Janata Bank PLC, Rupali Bank PLC, Sonali Bank PLC, BASIC Bank PLC, Bangladesh Development Bank PLC, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank and Probashi Kalyan Bank.
The finance minister said reducing the high rate of defaulted loans was essential to restoring discipline in the banking sector, a goal that had received special emphasis in the current government’s election manifesto, and that Bangladesh Bank had therefore adopted short-, medium- and long-term action plans.
He said that, in the short term, work was under way to draw up a guideline on a classified-loan resolution strategy for the banks and to update the credit risk management guideline in line with international standards.
Under the medium-term plan, he said, steps had been taken to implement the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS-9) in the banking sector, value loan collateral through listed firms, update the agricultural-loan rescheduling policy, provide special incentives for officers recovering defaulted loans, and improve the existing incentive policy for regular loan repayers.
As part of the long-term plan, he said, work was under way to set a maximum limit on the loans a single borrower can take from the entire banking sector, take strict action against willful defaulters, include experienced bankers on the judge panels of the Money Loan Courts, prevent delays in loan-recovery proceedings through writs, and enact the laws needed to form asset management companies in the private sector.
The finance minister also said the “Bank Resolution Act, 2026” had been enacted for the effective management of risky banks, and that steps had been taken to enact a “Deposit Protection Act, 2026” to safeguard depositors’ interests.
He also said that, through amendments to the laws governing Bangladesh Bank, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), and amendments to the Negotiable Instruments Act, the trial of check fraud and check dishonor cases had been made more effective. In his words, the government was working to restore discipline in the financial sector through a strong legal framework, a transparent resolution process and the protection of depositors’ interests.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report