Dhaka: Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today informed the parliament that defaulted loans in the country’s banking sector climbed to about Tk 5.45 lakh crore by the end of last year. ‘As of December 31, 2025, the total amount of defaulted loans in the banking sector is Tk 5,44,831 crore,’ he said responding to starred tabled question from NCP lawmaker Md Abul Hasnat (Cumilla-4).
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the parliament session resumed today at 3:30 pm with Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal in the chair. The minister also placed the list of top 20 loan defaulters in the House. They include notable companies such as S. Alam Super Edible Oil Limited, Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd, and Beximco Communications Limited, among others.
Focusing on the measures taken by the government to recover defaulted loans, Amir Khosru said the work plan includes discussing with the senior management team of banks with more than 10% classified loans on a quarterly basis. This involves adopting an action plan from the bank to identify obstacles in the collection of classified loans and resolve them.
Other measures taken by the government include checking the progress of recovery of top 20 defaulters at each banker’s meeting organized by Bangladesh Bank and formulating guidelines on classified loan resolution strategies for banks with high classified loan rates by Bangladesh Bank. ‘Banks have been instructed to strengthen the existing legal team/law department of the bank,’ said the minister.
Khosru mentioned that banks have been instructed to set a target of cash recovery of at least 1% of the defaulted loan balance of each bank by June 30, 2026, following Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The finance minister also said an action plan has been adopted to resolve the problem of non-performing loans.
According to the action plan, Bangladesh Bank is currently working to amend existing laws, including the Bank Company Act, Negotiable Instrument Act, Orthro Rin Adalat Ain, and Bankruptcy Act, to resolve the problem of non-performing loans. Other proposed actions include reviewing and updating the short-term agricultural loan rescheduling policy and publishing the list of defaulters and willful defaulters.
The actions aim to develop a better credit culture in the country by setting the maximum limit for borrowing by a borrower from the entire banking sector. Necessary legal reforms are also being considered to impose some of the measures taken for willful defaulters. This includes including experienced bankers in the judge panel/jury board of the money lending court and making arrangements in consultation with the Attorney General to prevent defaulting borrowers from stalling the loan recovery process.
The finance minister revealed the amount of loans taken from banks and financial companies against members of parliament and their interest-related organisations stands at Tk 11,117.31 crore.