Defaulted Loans in Bangladesh to Double as Loan Rules Tighten

Prime Bank PLC has entered into a banking services agreement with Kashpia Group, enabling the latter’s employees to access preferential services such as credit cards and loan facilities. The agreement, signed at the bank's corporate office in Dhaka on November 20, also includes access to PrimePay, Prime Bank's digital portal for automated salary disbursement and round-the-clock corporate payment solutions.

Midland Bank PLC and BP Manufacturing (BD) Co. Ltd. recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at BP Manufacturing’s headquarters in Uttara EPZ, Nilphamari.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) will tighten loan classification rules by March 2025 to align with International Monetary Fund conditions. The move could double the current defaulted loan figure of Tk 2,84,977 crore recorded in September, already the highest in South Asia at nearly 17% of total disbursed loans.

The S Alam Group, led by its founder and chairman, has warned Bangladesh Bank's governor of potential international arbitration following allegations of siphoning off Tk 1.2 trillion ($10 billion) from Bangladeshi banks during the previous regime. The group’s lawyers, in a letter dated November 19, accused the governor of making "false and defamatory" statements that amount to an intimidation campaign against the conglomerate, which employs 200,000 people in Bangladesh.