STAR BUSINESS REPORT

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has applied to the finance ministry seeking a one-month extension after a majority of banks, including listed lenders, failed to finalise their annual financial statements by the April 30 deadline.

As per the Bank Company Act 1991, banks must finalise their financial statements within four months of the end of the financial year and submit them to the Bangladesh Bank.

Additionally, banks listed on the stock market are required to declare dividends within this period, according to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) rules.

However, a majority of banks failed to do so.

Contacted, Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of the central bank, confirmed to The Daily Star that the banking regulator had applied to the Finance Ministry for a one-month extension to allow banks to finalise their annual statements.

However, the central bank is yet to receive approval.

Of the 36 listed banks, 23 have not finalised their annual financial statements. Most of the 25 non-listed lenders are also in the same situation.

Officials of numerous commercial banks said that the situation has arisen this year due to the central bank’s strict policies.

They added that banks used to receive various regulatory forbearances in previous years, including deferral facilities on maintaining provisions during the finalisation of annual statements.

However, the banking regulator has not granted any such regulatory forbearance this year.

Besides, in March this year, the central bank tightened the dividend policy for banks, causing banks that took deferral facilities from the central bank to meet provisioning requirements to be barred from paying dividends from 2024 onwards.

Among listed banks, state-run Rupali Bank, Dhaka Bank, Mercantile Bank, One Bank, Southeast Bank, UCB, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, Standard Bank, Premier Bank, EXIM Bank, IFIC Bank, AB Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, and Global Islami Bank have not yet finalised their financial statements.

The case is the same for new-generation banks such as Union Bank, South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank, NRB Commercial Bank, and NRB Bank.

A total of 13 banks have finalised their annual financial reports. Among them, ICB Islamic Bank, which has been incurring losses for a long time, did not declare any dividends this year.

Private sector banks that declared dividends include BRAC Bank, City Bank, Bank Asia, Eastern Bank, Pubali Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Trust Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Jamuna Bank, Prime Bank, Uttara Bank, and Midland Bank.