Green financing by banks dropped in the January-March quarter compared with that in the previous quarter.
According to a Bangladesh Bank quarterly report on sustainable finance published recently, banks鈥� investments in green projects dropped to Tk 7,070 crore during April- June period from Tk 7,927 crore in March, and Tk 7,620 crore December 2024 quarter.
However, NBFIs also experienced a decline, with green financing falling to Tk 778 crore inApril- June from Tk 836 crore in March and Tk 1,025 crore in December due to the bleak financial health of the sector.
From 2025 onwards, banks and finance companies should set their Green Finance target at 5 per cent and Sustainable Finance target at 40 per cent of their net loans and advances outstanding.
Accordingly, the targets of green finance and sustainable finance for banks and NBFIs are Tk 67,820 crore and Tk 5,42,563 crore respectively for 2025.
Green financing represented 13.29聽 per cent of the total term loan disbursements by banks and 24.5 per cent during 2024.
Forty-three banks out of 61 and 10 NBFIs out of 34 have had exposure in green finance in the reporting quarter.
Overall, banks鈥� sustainable financing dropped to Tk 1,38,395 crore in June from Tk 1,46,851 crore in March and Tk 1,44,992 crore in December.
NBFIs鈥� sustainable financing also declined to Tk 2,730 crore in June from Tk 2,967 crore in March and Tk 3,123 crore in December.
There was no investment in green bond, green Sukuk or impact fund by the banks and NBFIs in the period.
The total utilisation of climate risk fund in the April-June quarter was only Tk 1.02 crore.
The total outstanding balance of sustainable finance by banks was Tk 6.05 lakh crore at the end of June.
In the April-June period, banks recovered Tk 88,425 crore and the NBFIs Tk 2,119 crore from their disbursed sustainable loans.
In the period, banks rescheduled Tk 2,398 crore and the NBFIs Tk 54 crore in sustainable finance.
Fifty-five Banks out of 61 and 12 NBFIs out of 34 have had exposure in sustainable finance in the reporting quarter
The Bangladesh Bank introduced the Sustainable Finance Policy in December 2020.
