At the end of January, the deposits in the banking sector decreased to Tk 17,57,423 crore from Tk 17,70,363 crore at the end of December. This indicates a decrease of approximately Tk 13,000 crore in deposits in the first month of the year. Among the total deposits, Shariah-based banks had Tk 4,13,969 crore at the end of January, compared to Tk 4,22,464 crore at the end of December. This reflects a decrease of Tk 8,495 crore in January.
Deposits in conventional banks also decreased by Tk 4,443 crore, standing at Tk 13,43,456 crore. A senior Bangladesh Bank official suggested that fears about bank mergers, particularly after the PCA framework issued in December regarding the merger of some weak banks, might have led to the decrease in deposits.