The overall deposits in the country's non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) increased by 2.5 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year thanks to increased deposit rates.
The overall deposit of the NBFIs stood at Tk 448.30 billion in 2023, rising from Tk 437.53 billion in 2022, according to a latest report prepared by Bangladesh Bank.
The loans and advances also increased by 4.89 per cent to Tk 737.59 billion in 2023.
However, the quarterly growth in deposits and advances remained sluggish.
The deposit growth was recorded at 0.24 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2023 while advances grew 0.57 per cent in the same quarter over the preceding quarter of July-September 2023.
Senior executives of the NBFIs told the FE that the deposits have been growing since July last year, following higher interest on term deposits.
"We had even negative growth in some quarters in the past. But many NBFIs are now mobilising huge funds," said one senior official at a privately-owned NBFI, on condition of anonymity.
Of the deposits, the share of fixed deposits is around 97 per cent. The fixed deposits stood at Tk 435.13 billion at the end of 2023, which is 2.12 per cent higher than in 2022.
The lion's share of deposits of the NBFIs came from the private sector or around 92 per cent. The private deposit was recorded at Tk 413.21 billion at the end of December in 2023.
The distribution of deposits by administrative areas revealed that Dhaka Division contributed the most or 92.45 per cent of the total deposits in October-December, 2023.
Of the loans and advances, almost 100 per cent went to the private sector. The NBFIs disbursed loans worth Tk 736.49 billion at the end of December 2023.
The loans and advances mostly go to the industrial and trading sector.
At the end of December 2023, loan disbursed for industrial units worth Tk 26.79 billion in December in 2023, followed by trade and commerce amounting to Tk 15.27 billion.
The bulk of outstanding loans and advances (40.24 per cent) was used for industrial purposes, followed by trade and commerce at 22.73 percent. The construction sector outstanding was recorded at 14.33 per cent at the end of October-December, 2023.
Bangladesh has now 35 NBFIs, including three government-owned ones. They have some 308 branches and are mostly located in urban areas. The NBFIs have 219,705 accounts as of December 2023.
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