Dhaka, June 17 -- The latest data released by Bangladesh Bank paints a deeply troubling picture of the nation's banking sector. Non-performing loans (NPLs) have surged to a record Tk 420,335 crore as of March 2025 - a staggering 24.13 per cent of all outstanding loans.
Our newspaper on Monday reported that this marks a year-on-year increase of 131 per cent and raises urgent questions about the structural integrity of the country's financial institutions.
The recent adoption of international standards in loan classification by the central bank, while commendable, has only unveiled what many feared: a banking system long plagued by opacity, political patronage, and weak governance.
For years, successive governments-particularly the previou...