The government on Monday disclosed the country’s top 20 loan defaulters in parliament, as defaulted loans climbed to Tk5,44,831.88 crore by the end of December 2025.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented the list in a written reply to a question from Cumilla-4 MP Md Abul Hasnat, also known as Hasnat Abdullah. The submission also outlined a series of measures aimed at recovering the mounting non-performing loans.
According to the minister’s statement, the list of major defaulters includes S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited, S Alam Vegetable Oil Mills Limited, S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Limited, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited, Sonali Traders, Bangladesh Export-Import Company Ltd, Global Trading Corporation Limited, Chemon Ispat Limited, S Alam Trading Company (Pvt) Ltd, and Infinite CR Strips Industries Limited.
Other entities named are Keya Cosmetics Limited, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills Limited, Power Pac Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant Ltd, PowerPac Mutiara Jamalpur Power Plant Ltd, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited, Karnafuly Food Products Ltd, Murad Enterprise, CLC Power Company Limited, Beximco Communications Limited, and Rongdhanu Builders (Pvt) Ltd.
Nine of the top 10 defaulters are linked to the S Alam Group, underscoring the concentration of large-scale defaults within a single business conglomerate.
To tackle the growing problem, the government has stepped up monitoring and recovery efforts. Banks with more than 10% classified loans are now required to attend quarterly review meetings to assess recovery progress and identify bottlenecks.
Recovery performance of major defaulters is also being tracked in regular bankers’ meetings convened by Bangladesh Bank.
The central bank has issued guidelines for resolving classified loans, particularly for banks with high default rates. It has also introduced policies to identify wilful defaulters and take action against them, while directing banks to strengthen their legal capacity.
Banks have been instructed to recover at least 1% of defaulted loans in cash by June 30 through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
In addition, the government has updated credit risk management guidelines and is working to improve governance in lending practices by aligning with international standards, including expected credit loss-based provisioning.
Efforts are also underway to improve collateral valuation by involving approved third-party firms alongside banks’ internal assessments.
Khosru said a broader reform agenda is in progress, including amendments to key laws such as the Bank Company Act, 1991; the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; the Artha Rin Adalat Act, 2003; and the Bankruptcy Act, 1997.
Authorities are also reviewing policies on agricultural loan rescheduling and considering the publication of lists of defaulters and wilful defaulters.
Other planned measures include revising incentives for regular borrowers, setting exposure limits for single borrowers, and introducing legal safeguards to prevent misuse of court processes that delay loan recovery.
The government is also weighing the creation of private sector asset management companies to help resolve non-performing loans and ease pressure on the banking sector.