The government's borrowing from the banking system has exceeded Tk 53,000 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal year, reaching Tk 53,386 crore by the end of December. In this period, the government has already taken more than half of the bank loan target set in this year's budget, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank report on government internal loans.
Bangladesh Bank published its latest report on government bank loans on Sunday night. In addition to bank loans, the report also details government borrowing from the non-bank financial sector, including savings certificates. In the first six months of the current 2025-26 fiscal year, government loans from the non-bank financial sector stood at Tk 8,861 crore, against a full-year target of Tk 21,000 crore.
The interim government was in charge during the first six months of the fiscal year. As a result, all loans taken from banks and the financial sector in this period occurred under the interim government's term. At that time, the pace of development activities was slow, and a larger portion of the borrowed funds was spent on government operating expenses rather than on development projects.
The government's bank loan has increased eight times compared to the previous fiscal year. The government's loan from the non-bank financial sector has decreased. The government's internal debt, including banks and financial sectors, stands at Tk 62,246 crore.
According to the Bangladesh Bank report, the loan taken by the government from banks in the first six months of the current fiscal year is almost eight times compared to the first six months of the previous fiscal year 2024-25. The amount of government bank loan in the first six months of the 2024-25 fiscal year was Tk 6,740 crore. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, it has increased eight times to more than Tk 50,000 crore. Although the government's loan from banks has increased eight times, the loan from the non-bank financial sector has decreased compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.
In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the government's borrowing from the non-bank financial sector was Tk 8,861 crore. In the same period of the last fiscal year, it was Tk 24,688 crore. Accordingly, the government's borrowing from the financial sector in the first six months of the current fiscal year has decreased by Tk 15,827 crore compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The government's borrowing from internal sources is now mainly bank-dependent. Once, the government used to borrow the most by selling savings certificates. But as the profit rate of savings certificates has decreased, the interest of the general public in investing in savings certificates has decreased. Due to this, the government is not able to borrow much by selling savings certificates. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the government's net borrowing from the sale of savings certificates was Tk 2,461 crore. Instead of savings certificates, the government is taking loans by selling various types of bills and bonds at high interest rates. Along with institutional investors, ordinary people are also investing in government bill bonds due to good interest rates.
In the current fiscal year, the government has set a total loan target of Tk 1,25,000 crore from banks and the financial sector. Of this, the target for loans from banks has been set at Tk 1,04,000 crore. And the target for loans from the non-bank financial sector has been set at Tk 21,000 crore. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the government's internal loan amount, including banks and the financial sector, stood at Tk 62,246 crore. In the same period of the last fiscal year, the amount was Tk 31,428 crore. Accordingly, the government's internal loan amount has almost doubled in the first six months of the current fiscal year compared to the first six months of the last fiscal year.
