Banks identified 3,483 wilful defaulters who together owe about Tk 29,000 crore, according to a recent Bangladesh Bank report.
Wilful defaulters are those who have the financial capacity to repay their loans but intentionally avoid doing so.
BB officials have confirmed that no major business group appears on the list submitted by the banks.
Most of the identified defaulters defaulted on relatively small loans, with highest of up to Tk 150 crore, while more than a thousand were credit card users defaulting on amounts ranging from Tk 10,000 to Tk 10 lakh.
Officials acknowledged that many banks were hesitant to list large borrowers as wilful defaulters, fearing it might hinder recovery efforts.
Banks prefer to negotiate with major clients rather than risk alienating them through legal classification, a senior BB official said.
As a result, large-scale corporate defaulters 鈥� who owe thousands of crores 鈥� remain shielded despite clear evidence of wilful non-payment.
The central bank has begun hearings for many of the reported defaulters who appealed against their classification, aiming to reach settlements through rescheduling or interest waivers based on their financial condition.
If unresolved, the BB has instructed banks to pursue legal actions, including filing lawsuits and auctioning collateral.
The Bangladesh Bank has not yet shared the list of wilful defaulters with other state agencies, as required under the Bank Company (Amendment) Act, 2023.
The act empowered the central bank to forward the list to agencies such as the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies to restrict defaulters from travelling abroad, obtaining trade licences or registering new businesses.
It also allows further sanctions, including bans on purchasing property or receiving government awards.
Although the BB issued a circular in March 2024 announcing its plan to begin sharing the list from July that year, no such action has been taken.
The inaction, experts say, sends a dangerous signal that even proven wilful defaulters can operate freely.
Economists and banking analysts said that the failure to publish and act on the list reflected deep governance lapses and the long-standing nexus between banks and politically connected borrowers.
Central bank data show that non-performing loans surged to nearly Tk 6 lakh crore by June 2025, from that of Tk 4.2 lakh crore in March.
With total outstanding loans standing at Tk 20 lakh crore, roughly 30 per cent of the sector鈥檚 lending is now stressed or at risk.
The Bangladesh Bank also disclosed that nearly 19 per cent of all borrowers 鈥� or 14.09 lakh out of 76.05 lakh 鈥� are now in default, a record high compared with regional peers such as India, where the amount is below 2 per cent, and Vietnam with that under 3 per cent.
Experts said that the persistence of wilful defaulting, especially without punitive action, risked deepening the banking crisis, eroding depositor confidence and undermining credit discipline.
