Bank sub-branch deposits surge 5.7pc, but lending falls 7.7pc

People are putting more money into bank sub-branches, but banks are lending less through these outlets, showing a widening gap between deposit collection and credit flow at the grassroots level.

According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data released on Wednesday, deposits collected through bank sub-branches rose 5.7 per cent to Tk 842.63 billion at the end of June 2026 from Tk 797.17 billion three months earlier.

The growth was more than double the 2.4 per cent growth in total deposits in the banking sector during the same period.
But lending through the sub-branches moved in the opposite direction. Loans and advances through sub-branches fell 7.7 per cent to Tk 206.02 billion from Tk 223.09 billion in March, while overall bank lending grew 1.4 per cent during the period.

The latest figures show that sub-branches are attracting more depositors, but the flow of credit through these outlets is weakening.

The number of deposit accounts increased from 8.47 million to nearly 8.97 million in three months, a 5.9 per cent rise. Women held 38.4 per cent of the deposit accounts in June, up slightly from 38.2 per cent in March.

At the same time, the number of loan accounts dropped by 5.3 per cent to 240,000 from 254,000.

The rural share of sub-branch lending, however, increased from 31.8 per cent to 35.8 per cent. Women’s share of loans also rose slightly to 14.7 per cent from 14 per cent.

Sub-branch deposits now account for 3.8 per cent of total banking-sector deposits, compared with 3.7 per cent in March. But their share of total bank loans fell to 1.1 per cent from 1.3 per cent.