Default loans rise again, reversing last year’s gains

Default loans rose to 32.26% of total outstanding loans in the banking sector in the January-March quarter, rising by 1.72% from December.

Experts believe governance issues played a key role in the reversal of last year’s gains.

In January-March, default loans rose by Tk31,487.50 crore to Tk588,704 crore, according to data unveiled by the Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday.

In December, default loans stood at Tk557,216.92 crore, which was 30.54% of total outstanding loans of Tk1,824,668 crore. Three months earlier, towards the end of September, the default loan ratio was 36%.

In March this year, net default loans rose by Tk19,273.76 crore to Tk5,64,105 crore, which is 30.92% of total loans.