Dhaka, April 29 -- The National Bank Ltd (NBL) has continued to suffer as the country's first private bank counted losses for the second year in a row thanks to high default loans.

The loss of the first-generation bank-now a topic of discussion for its possible merger with the United Commercial Bank-decreased by a half in 2023, but the amount is still high.

It incurred losses of Tk 1,497 crore in 2023, down by around 54 percent from Tk 3,285 crore of the previous year.

Similarly, its earnings per share hit Tk 4.65 in the negative in 2023, down from the previous year's Tk 10.13 in the negative, according to a disclosure of the bank posted on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Sunday. The NBL made a profit of Tk 419 crore i...