Despite economic challenges, seven listed banks in Bangladesh achieved record profits in 2023, attributed to effective business strategies. Notably, Dutch-Bangla Bank’s profit surged by 42%, reaching Tk801 crore, marking its highest ever. BRAC Bank and Pubali Bank also saw significant profit growth of 35% and 23% respectively. City Bank and Eastern Bank witnessed profit rises of 33% and 20% respectively.
However, challenges such as inflation and a dollar crisis affected private sector credit growth, which declined to 10.13% by December 2023. Additionally, default loans surged by Tk25,000 crore, reaching Tk1.45 lakh crore by December 2023. The Bangladesh Bank aims to reduce default loans to 8% by June 2026, as part of an IMF loan package condition. Despite challenges, banks like BRAC Bank and Eastern Bank thrived due to interest income and prudent risk management, respectively.