Dhaka, Feb. 27 -- The total volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country's banking sector has surged to Tk 3,45,765 crore by the end of the October-December quarter (Q4) last year, which represents 20.2 per cent of the total outstanding loans.

According to Bangladesh Bank statistics released on Wednesday, the banking system had a total of Tk 17,11,402 crore in outstanding loans and advances at the end of the last quarter of 2024.Earlier, in the third quarter (July-September) of 2024, NPLs had reached Tk 2,84,977 crore, marking an increase of Tk 61,000 crore in just three months.

Furthermore, the amount of NPLs at the end of 2023 was Tk 1.45 lakh crore, indicating a worrying rise of Tk 2 lakh crore in defaulted loans within a sin...