The bank sector in Bangladesh consists of several types of institutions. Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of Bangladesh and the chief regulatory authority in the banking sector.
According to the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 the Government of Bangladesh reorganized the Dhaka Branch of the State Bank of Pakistan as the central bank of the country and named it Bangladesh Bank with retrospective effect from 16 December 1971. Other than Bangladesh Bank, banks in Bangladesh are primarily categorized into two types: Scheduled and Non-Scheduled banks.[1]
Scheduled banks are licensed under the Bank Company Act, 1991 (Amended to 2013). Currently, there are 61 scheduled banks in Bangladesh.[1]
There are 6 state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) that are fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh.[1]
3 specialized banks are now operating which were established for specific objectives like agricultural or industrial development. These banks are also fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh.[1]
There is a total of 43 PCBs in operation right now. They are majorly owned by private entities and classified into two types.[1]
In total 33 conventional PCBs are now operating in the industry. They perform the banking functions in a conventional fashion i.e. interest-based operations.[1]
There are 10 Islami Shariah-based PCBs in Bangladesh and they execute banking activities according to Islami Shariah-based principles i.e. Profit-Loss Sharing (PLS) mode.[1]
On April 2024 the central bank of Bangladesh issued banking merger policy for merger of weak banks with strong banks – both voluntary and mandatory.[2] Following merger process are ongoing:[3]
In total 9 FCBs are operating in Bangladesh as the branches of the banks which are incorporated in abroad.[1]
Non-scheduled banks are licensed only for specific functions and objectives and do not offer the same range of services as scheduled banks. There are now 6 non-scheduled banks in Bangladesh.[1]
Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), known as financial institutions (FIs), are those types of financial institutions that are regulated under the Financial Institution Act, of 1993 and controlled by Bangladesh Bank. Now, 34 FIs operate in Bangladesh while the maiden one was established in 1981. Out of the total, two are fully government-owned, one is the subsidiary of a SOCB, 15 were initiated by private domestic initiatives and 15 were initiated by joint venture initiatives.[1]
NBFI's include:[4]