The bank sector in Bangladesh consists of several types of institutions. Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of Bangladesh and the chief regulatory authority in the banking sector.
According to the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 the Government of Bangladesh reorganized the Dhaka Branch of the State Bank of Pakistan as the central bank of the country and named it Bangladesh Bank with retrospective effect from 16 December 1971. Other than Bangladesh Bank, banks in Bangladesh are primarily categorized into two types: Scheduled and Non-Scheduled banks. [1]
Scheduled banks are licensed under the Bank Company Act, 1991 (Amended to 2013). Currently, there are 61 scheduled banks in Bangladesh. [1]
There are 6 state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) that are fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh. [1]
3 specialized banks are now operating which were established for specific objectives like agricultural or industrial development. These banks are also fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh. [1]
There is a total of 43 PCBs in operation right now. They are majorly owned by private entities and classified into two types. [1]
In total, 33 conventional PCBs are now operating in the industry. They perform the banking functions in a conventional fashion i.e. interest-based operations. [1]
There are 10 Islami Shariah-based PCBs in Bangladesh and they execute banking activities according to Islami Shariah-based principles i.e. Profit-Loss Sharing (PLS) mode. [1]
In April 2024, the central bank of Bangladesh issued banking merger policy for merger of weak banks with strong banks – both voluntary and mandatory. [2] Following merger process are ongoing: [3]
In total, 9 FCBs are operating in Bangladesh as the branches of the banks which are incorporated in abroad. [1]
Non-scheduled banks are licensed only for specific functions and objectives and do not offer the same range of services as scheduled banks. There are now 5 non-scheduled banks in Bangladesh which are:
Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank, Karmashangosthan Bank, Grameen Bank, Jubilee Bank, Palli Sanchay Bank
Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), known as financial institutions (FIs), are those types of financial institutions that are regulated under the Financial Institution Act, of 1993 and controlled by Bangladesh Bank. Now, 34 FIs operate in Bangladesh while the maiden one was established in 1981. Out of the total, two are fully government-owned, one is the subsidiary of a SOCB, 15 were initiated by private domestic initiatives and 15 were initiated by joint venture initiatives. [1]
NBFI's include: [4]
BankIslami Pakistan Limited is a Pakistani Islamic bank based in Karachi. It has 500+ branches in 210 cities, (2024) Pakistan.
Rupali Bank PLC. is a state owned commercial bank in Bangladesh. Its headquarters is in 34 Dilkusha, Dhaka. Nazmul Huda is the chairman of the bank. Mohammad Jahangir is the managing director of the bank.
Uttara Bank PLC. is one of the largest and oldest private sector commercial banks in Bangladesh. There are 243 branches at home and 600 affiliates worldwide. Azharul Islam, chairman of Aftab Group, is the chairman of Uttara Bank PLC.
Motijheel is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero point, has the largest number of offices in Dhaka. Motijheel CBD also has one of the highest concentrations of high-rise buildings in Bangladesh. It has thus earned the title of the downtown and city centre of Dhaka and as the bankpara-officepara in Bengali.
A non-banking financial institution (NBFI) or non-bank financial company (NBFC) is a financial institution that is not legally a bank; it does not have a full banking license or is not supervised by a national or international banking regulatory agency. NBFC facilitate bank-related financial services, such as investment, risk pooling, contractual savings, and market brokering. Examples of these include hedge funds, insurance firms, pawn shops, cashier's check issuers, check cashing locations, payday lending, currency exchanges, and microloan organizations.
Bangladesh is a developing country with an impoverished banking system, particularly in terms of the services and customer care provided by the government run banks. In recent times, private banks are trying to imitate the banking structure of the more developed countries, but this attempt is often foiled by inexpert or politically motivated government policies executed by the central bank of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank. The outcome is a banking system fostering corruption and illegal monetary activities/laundering etc. by the politically powerful and criminals, while at the same time making the attainment of services or the performance of international transactions difficult for the ordinary citizens, students studying abroad or through distance learning, general customers etc.
The Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) is the national training, research, consultancy and education institute on banking and finance collectively owned by all banks that are in operation in the country.
United Finance started its journey as a non-banking financial institution in 1989. They are affiliated with Duncan Brothers (Bangladesh) Limited, Camellia PLC and Lawrie Group PLC and its associated concerns who have a combined presence of over 150 years in Bangladesh. and changed into United Finance in 2014. It is listed in DSE. It provides financial services, such as investment, lease, loan, term finance, channel financing. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. United Finance collect around 80 percent of their funds directly from individual depositors.
Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited is a private sector commercial bank in Bangladesh.
IDLC Finance PLC, formerly known as Industrial Development Leasing Company of Bangladesh Limited (IDLC), is a multi-product non-banking financial institution with headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It offers financial services in the form of small and medium enterprise (SME) finance products, supplier and distributor finance, corporate finance, structured finance, retail finance, deposits and treasury products. The IDLC group also provides merchant banking, stock broker and asset management services via its three subsidiaries, IDLC Investments Limited, IDLC Securities Limited and IDLC Asset Management Limited, respectively.
Kazi Sanaul Hoq is a Bangladeshi banker and former Chairman of Rupali Bank Limited. He is a former managing director of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh. His the former managing director of Dhaka Stock Exchange. His appointment as the managing director of Dhaka Stock Exchange was controversial as it had been alleged that the selection process was gamed in his favor through pressure from "upper levels".
Saudi-Bangladesh Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Limited is an investment and finance company owned by the government of Bangladesh and the government of Saudi Arabia.
International Leasing and Financial Services Limited is a major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh. Md. Nazrul Islam Khan is the chairman and Md. Kazi Alamgir is the managing director of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited. Proshanta Kumar Halder, a banker and known as "Sultan of swindle", had according to media reports embezzled 30 billion taka from the institute and according to Bangladesh Bank 15.69 billion taka. The fraud was aided Amitav Adhikary, a cousin of Proshanta Kumar Halder and senior management at International Leasing and Financial Services Limited.
Aviva Finance Limited is a sharia complaint major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh. It was formerly called Reliance Finance Limited. Mohammed Saiful Alam is the chairman of Aviva Finance Limited and also S. Alam Group. The former managing director of Reliance Finance Limited, Proshanta Kumar Halder, embezzled from Reliance and other financial institutions in Bangladesh through fraudulent loans. According to the Anti-Corruption Commission Proshanta Kumar Halder stole 102 billion taka. The Daily Star gave Proshanta Kumar Halder the name sultan of swindle.
Fareast Finance and Investment (FFIL) is a major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh providing leasing and loans. It is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled was a Bangladeshi economist and former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank. In 2011, Bangla Academy awarded him an honorary fellowship.
LankaBangla Finance PLC. is a licensed non-banking financial company in Bangladesh. Mohammad A. Moyeen is the chairman of LankaBangla Finance Limited. Khwaja Shahriar is the CEO and managing director of LankaBangla Finance Limited.
Union Capital Limited is a major Non-bank financial institutions of Bangladesh based in Dhaka. It is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange.
Bangladesh Finance and Investment Company Limited, also known as BD Finance or Bangladesh Finance Limited, is a non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh. Manwar Hossain is the chairman Bangladesh Finance and Investment Company Limited and Md Kyser Hamid is the CEO and managing director.