Rupali Bank PLC Records Tk396 Crore Quarterly Loss

State-owned Rupali Bank PLC has experienced severe financial distress, recording a consolidated net loss of Tk396 crore for the first quarter of 2026. According to the lender’s latest financial disclosures, the downturn has been driven by accelerating non-performing loans (NPLs), widening provisioning shortfalls, negative retained earnings, and the systematic erosion of its capital adequacy buffers.

Net Interest Income and Operational Imbalance

According to a price-sensitive statement filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on 18 May 2026, the bank’s standalone performance for the January–March quarter of 2026 was severely impacted by a structural deficit in its core banking operations.

During the first quarter, the bank’s interest income declined by 23% year-on-year to Tk658 crore. Concurrently, its aggregate cost of funds escalated by 15% to Tk1,304 crore. This widening imbalance pushed Rupali Bank’s net interest income deep into negative territory, culminating in a net interest deficit of Tk645.78 crore. The data indicates that the state-owned lender is paying substantially more in interest to depositors than it is generating from its active loan and investment portfolios.

Consequently, the bank’s loss per share for the quarter stood at Tk8.12, whilst its net asset value (NAV) per share contracted by 23% to settle at Tk27.05. Retained earnings also deteriorated, slipping further into negative territory to stand at negative Tk351 crore by the end of the quarter.

Non-Performing Loans and Regulatory Forbearance

The escalating volume of classified assets remains the primary driver of the bank’s structural instability. According to the 2025 annual audit report prepared by chartered accounting firm Mahfel Huq & Co, Rupali Bank’s default loans expanded to Tk20,015 crore by the end of December 2025. This volume of non-performing assets represents 39.05% of the bank’s total outstanding loan book.

To safeguard its balance sheet against these bad assets, the bank was legally required to maintain provisions totalling Tk14,014 crore. Rupali Bank failed to fully meet this provisioning requirement. Despite this capital deficit, Bangladesh Bank, the central bank, intervened on 30 April 2026 by granting the lender special regulatory forbearance. This dispensation permitted Rupali Bank to prepare and publish its official financial statements without fully recognizing or accounting for the massive provisioning shortfall.

Capital Adequacy Breaches and Stock Market Downgrade

The independent audit also highlighted critical breaches of statutory capital adequacy frameworks. Under prevailing Basel III regulatory guidelines implemented by the central bank, commercial banks in Bangladesh are required to maintain a minimum Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 12.5%, inclusive of the capital conservation buffer. Rupali Bank’s solo CRAR was recorded at a mere 2.88%, while its consolidated ratio stood at 2.94%.

Furthermore, the bank’s paid-up capital of Tk487.93 crore remains beneath the mandatory statutory minimum requirement of Tk500 crore, significantly limiting its capacity to absorb ongoing financial shocks.

The critical metrics detailing the financial position of the institution are presented below:

As a direct consequence of this prolonged financial deterioration and its failure to declare dividends for two consecutive fiscal years, the Dhaka Stock Exchange officially downgraded Rupali Bank PLC to the “Z” category (junk status) for the first time in the company’s trading history. Following the announcement, the bank’s shares fell by 0.62% to close at Tk16.10.

The Government of Bangladesh remains the dominant majority stakeholder in the entity, holding 90.19% of the outstanding shares. Institutional investors hold 3.32%, while the remaining 6.49% is held by the general public.