Dhaka, Feb. 12 -- Classified loans in the banking sector showed an annual bulge by around 21 per cent to Tk 1.46 trillion in 2023, until a downturn towards the yearend under regulatory push.

The percentage of bad loans in banks stood up at 9.0 per cent against total outstanding credits worth Tk 16.18 trillion, as of last December.

A year ago, the share of the classified loans was 8.16 per cent, according to official data. At the end of 2022, the figure of non-performing loans (NPLs) in banks was recorded Tk 1.21 trillion.

That means the burden of bad loans in the banking industry surged by over Tk 250 billion throughout the immediate-past calendar year.

But in terms of quarterly analysis for July-September to October-December period, ...