Ten commercial banks together collected Tk聽1,10,190 crore in fresh deposits in a year ending in June, 2025, as savers shifted funds away from fragile banks amid a deepening confidence crisis in the banking sector, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.
Bankers said that savers began shifting deposits to strong banks following the central bank鈥檚 decision to conduct asset quality reviews on about 16 banks and to merge five troubled lenders.
Disclosures of large-scale loan irregularities and corruption further panicked depositors, triggering mass withdrawals, they said.
Many weaker banks failed to meet withdrawal requests on time, deepening public fears and pushing depositors toward stronger banks that are widely perceived as safer and better governed.
The shift reflects public frustration with troubled banks as they continued to restrict withdrawals.
The deposits balance in banks in June included interbank deposit surplus balance and Islamic banking window of the banks.
BRAC Bank recorded the highest gain, with deposits rising by Tk聽19,728 crore to reach Tk聽79,764 crore in June from Tk聽60,036 crore a year earlier.
Pubali Bank followed closely with an increase of Tk聽16,293 crore, bringing its total deposits to Tk聽81,835 crore.
City Bank posted a sharp 35 per cent rise of Tk 15,705 crore, lifting its deposit base to Tk 61,087 crore.
State-owned Sonali Bank also benefited, adding Tk聽15,047 crore to reach Tk 1,73,467 crore.
Trust Bank and Eastern Bank saw their deposits climb by Tk聽8,477 crore and Tk聽8,148 crore respectively, while Dutch-Bangla Bank gained Tk聽7,571 crore, Islami Bank Bangladesh Tk聽7,092 crore, Prime Bank Tk聽6,270 crore, Jamuna Bank Tk聽5,860 crore, and Mutual Trust Bank Tk聽5,009 crore.
Bankers said that these banks have drawn depositors due to their stronger compliance frameworks, healthier asset profiles, and more robust governance structures.
By contrast, six shariah-based banks together lost Tk聽23,718 crore in deposits in the same period.
Social Islami Bank saw the steepest deposit decline to Tk聽7,881 crore, followed by EXIM Bank deposit reached Tk 7,207 crore, First Security Islami Bank deposit stands at Tk聽6,258 crore, Global Islami Bank at Tk 1,240 crore, Union Bank at Tk 1,013 crore, and ICB Islami Bank deposit fell to Tk 119 crore in the FY25.
Most of these lenders were under the control of S Alam Group, which allegedly took away significant amounts in loans, leaving the banks in severe financial distress.
The damage to these banks鈥� deposit bases was somewhat limited only because they restricted withdrawals, failing to meet depositor demands. Without such restrictions, bankers noted, the losses would have been much more severe.
According to central bank data, total deposits in the banking sector, including interbank accounts, stood at Tk聽2,094,599 crore in June 2025, which was 7.64 per cent higher than that in June 2024.
However, bankers said the growth is sharply uneven.
While strong banks continue to attract growing volumes of deposits, weaker banks remain under intense liquidity stress.
