Defaulted loans at Bangladesh’s five state-owned banks rose by Tk6,304 crore in the first six months of the current government, despite efforts to reduce bad debts and policy support from Bangladesh Bank. At the end of June, combined defaulted loans at Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali and BASIC banks stood at Tk151,343 crore, up from Tk145,039 crore in December. The BNP formed the government on February 17 after winning the 13th parliamentary election.

Agrani Bank recorded the largest increase, with defaulted loans rising Tk3,518 crore to Tk32,133 crore. Janata Bank’s bad loans increased Tk3,020 crore to Tk75,558 crore, the highest among the five banks. Its top 20 borrower groups account for Tk52,418 crore, or about 72 percent, of total defaulted loans. Rupali’s defaulted loans rose Tk159 crore, while Sonali’s fell to Tk15,710 crore and BASIC’s declined to Tk8,152 crore.

Bank officials cited borrowers’ unwillingness to repay, slow legal processes and weakened recovery efforts after political changes. Agrani’s managing director said roughly half of its bad loans are held by its 20 largest borrowers. The report said no major effective government initiative on state-bank reform, governance or loan recovery had become visible during the first six months.