By December 2024, Bangladesh recorded the “weakest banking system in Asia”—20.2 percent (Tk 3,45,765 crore) of total loans were in default—the highest in the region, according to the Asian Development Bank’s 2025 report on ‘Non-performing Loans Watch in Asia’. In comparison, by December 2024, India’s non-performing loans were 2.5 percent of total loans, while Pakistan’s were 6.3 percent. By June 2025, Bangladesh’s non-performing loans had risen to 27.09 percent or Tk 5,30,428 crore, as local media reported, citing Bangladesh Bank.
The country’s $20.27 billion stock of distressed assets represents a 28 percent year-on-year increase, highlighting what the ADB described as the region’s “most fragile banking system” in its report published last month.
Other South Asian economies—India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—all saw declines in their NPL ratios last year, while Nepal experienced only a slight rise of 0.9 percentage points. India, the region’s largest economy, reduced its NPL ratio to 2.5 percent from 3.4 percent, supported by broad-based banking reform