Non-performing loans at AB Bank jumped to 82 per cent of its total loan portfolio at the end of September, placing it among the six banks in Bangladesh whose defaulted loans now exceed 80 per cent of all loans they have disbursed.
The bank reported Tk 30,138 crore in NPLs out of its total Tk 36,804 crore in loans at the end of September, 2025.
Its bad loans, which carry almost no prospect of recovery, reached Tk 27,711 crore in September.
AB Bank held deposits worth Tk 34,465 crore during the same period, meaning nearly the entire deposit base is exposed to defaulted loans.
The bank鈥檚 NPL volume was far lower earlier, at Tk 8,840 crore in March and Tk 8,572 crore in December 2024, underscoring how sharply the figures escalated after recent scrutiny.
Managing director and chief executive officer Syed Mizanur Rahman resigned on November 19, pending board approval.
He joined AB Bank in 2011, became additional managing director in August 2024 and was appointed managing director in May 2025.
He said that NPL surged due to reclassification of some non-banking assets as non-performing loans.
Bangladesh Bank officials said that the NPL ratio spiked after the central bank launched an asset quality review of AB Bank.
The review forced the bank to classify a large volume of previously hidden loans as defaults.
These loans had been shown as unclassified despite failing to meet repayment standards.
The central bank began forensic asset audits at AB Bank, IFIC Bank and National Bank on August 21 as part of a broader effort to examine distressed banks.
Following the review, AB Bank came under heavy withdrawal pressure as depositors feared the bank could face the same situation as five crisis-hit Shariah-based banks that BB decided to merge.
Those banks had failed to return depositors鈥� money, intensifying concerns across the sector.
To manage the outflow, AB Bank sought Tk 2,000 crore in liquidity support from Bangladesh Bank on November 11.
The bank also reported a steep fall in profitability.
It said profit declined due to lower interest income, higher interest expenses and the huge rise in non-performing loans.
AB Bank posted losses of Tk 1,905 crore in 2024, compared with a net profit of Tk 89.37 crore in 2023.
Because of the losses, the board recommended no dividend for 2024, ending a five-year streak of dividend payments.
