Over 141,000 bank accounts now hold more than Tk 1 crore

While many low and middle-income people are being forced to dip into their savings to meet rising living costs, the opposite trend is being seen among wealthy individuals and large businesses as bank accounts holding over Tk 1 crore has seen significant increase.

Latest Bangladesh Bank data revealed that the number of accounts holding more than Tk1 crore stood at 141,562 at the end of June this year, up from 136,485 at the end of March. Around 5,077 accounts were added in the list within three months.

The contrasting trends of rising living costs and growing large deposits have drawn attention. Sector insiders said while rising prices are making it difficult for many low- and middle-income people to manage daily expenses, the income and bank deposits of some wealthy individuals and large businesses are increasing.

Bangladesh Bank data showed that the total number of bank accounts stood at 18.64 crore at the end of June, with total deposits amounting to Tk22.10 lakh crore.

Three months earlier, banks had 18.26 crore accounts with deposits of Tk21.58 lakh crore. Thus, the number of accounts increased by 37.73 lakh, while deposits rose by Tk52,419 crore during the period.

Industry insiders said some money that had remained outside the banking system is now returning to banks, contributing to the overall rise in deposits. Business and institutional deposits have also played a role in the increase in large deposits.

Bangladesh Bank officials said the number of accounts holding more than Tk 1 crore cannot be used to determine the actual number of millionaires in the country. Such accounts may belong to individuals, companies or government agencies. Moreover, a person or institution can hold multiple accounts at different banks.

According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data, there were only five depositors with Tk 1 crore or more in 1972. The number rose to 47 in 1975 and 98 in 1980. It reached 943 in 1990, 2,594 in 1996, 5,162 in 2001, 8,887 in 2006 and 19,163 in 2008.

The number continued to rise rapidly in later years. At the end of December 2020, there were 93,890 accounts holding more than Tk 1 crore. The figure rose to 101,976 in December 2021 and 109,946 in December 2022.

It increased further to 116,908 in December 2023, 122,081 in December 2024 and 134,044 in December 2025. By June this year, the number had reached 141,562.