The Bangladesh Bank is finalising preparations to initiate the formal liquidation of six distressed Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) before the upcoming Eid holidays. This decisive regulatory intervention follows years of systemic irregularities, institutional corruption, and gross mismanagement that have left several entities in the sector fundamentally non-viable.
According to senior officials at the central bank, a formal request for Tk5,600 crore has been submitted to the Finance Division to facilitate the winding-up process. The government has reportedly agreed to disburse these funds in two tranches, with an initial instalment of Tk2,600 crore expected imminently. The remaining Tk3,000 crore is scheduled for release by June.
The Roadmap to Liquidation
The central bank’s strategy prioritises the protection of small-scale savers. Once the first tranche of funding is secured, independent administrators will be appointed to oversee the affected institutions. Their primary mandate will be to reimburse individual depositors before the regulator approaches the courts for formal dissolution.
While six institutions face immediate closure, three others—Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company (BIFC), GSP Finance Company, and Prime Finance & Investment Limited—have been granted a brief reprieve of three to six months. These entities must demonstrate significant loan recovery and capital injection to avoid the same fate.
A Tale of Two Sectors: The Financial Divide
The NBFI sector in Bangladesh is currently split between a small group of high-performing firms and a larger cohort of “troubled” institutions. The following table illustrates the stark disparity between the 20 identified struggling firms and the 15 healthy ones:
| Category | Total Loans | Defaulted Loans | Default Rate (%) | Net Profit/Loss |
| Troubled NBFIs (20) | Tk25,808 cr | Tk21,462 cr | 83.16% | Significant Deficit |
| Sound NBFIs (15) | N/A | N/A | 7.31% | Tk1,465 cr Profit |
Profile of the Six Non-Viable Entities
The six institutions slated for liquidation exhibit catastrophic financial indicators. For instance, FAS Finance reports a near-total default rate of 99.93%, while International Leasing holds nearly Tk4,000 crore in defaulted loans, the vast majority of which are deemed unrecoverable.
“Our priority is to restore discipline to the financial markets,” a central bank official stated. “Individual depositors will be settled first, and we have ensured that the employees of these liquidated firms will receive their statutory benefits in accordance with service rules.”
The move marks one of the most significant “cleansing” operations in the history of the Bangladeshi financial sector, as the regulator seeks to prune non-viable branches to save the integrity of the wider monetary system.