Rupali Bank PLC

Rupali Bank is in severe financial distress with a massive provision shortfall, mounting non-performing loans, and a significant quarterly loss that has eroded its capital base.

Rupali Bank was formed on 26 March 1972 by merging three pre-existing commercial banks: Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd., Australasia Bank Ltd., and Standard Bank Ltd. under President's Order No. 26 of 1972. It was denationalised and converted to a public limited company on 14 December 1986, listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange the same year -- making it the only DSE-listed state-owned commercial bank. It was renamed from Rupali Bank Limited to Rupali Bank PLC on 14 December 2023. Headquarters: 34 Dilkusha Commercial Area, Dhaka. Subsidiaries: Rupali Bank Securities Limited and Rupali Investment Limited. Paid-up capital of Tk 4,879.32 crore (487,932,065 shares at Tk 10 face value) confirmed from DSE display as of April 30, 2026; government ownership of 90.19%, institutional 3.32%, public 6.49%. Authorised capital increased from Tk 700 crore to Tk 2,500 crore (Tk 25 billion) per FID approval March 2024. Branch count: 586 per rupalibank.com.bd official website data and Wikipedia (2024-2025 data); Banglapedia shows 583 as of 2020. Sub-branch count of 33 and ATM count of 63 from multiple press/directory sources (search-verified). Employee count of 7,164 per official website data as of March 31, 2024; PitchBook cites 7,438 for September 2025; Wikipedia/gov_tracker estimate 6,000+. Using 7,164 (official website, most recent primary source). Chairman Md. Nazrul Huda (former BB Deputy Governor) appointed August 15, 2024 for a three-year term under the interim government. MD Kazi Md. Wahidul Islam joined December 24, 2024 (FID notification December 12, 2024) for a three-year term; previously DMD at Sonali Bank and a Rupali Bank career officer (joined 1998). Both remained in post under the BNP-Tarique government sworn February 17, 2026; no replacement announced as of May 18, 2026. FY2024 financials: total assets Tk 80,792 crore and total deposits Tk 66,113 crore from S&P Global Market Intelligence via StockAnalysis (audited balance sheet). Net profit Tk 113.92 million (Tk 11.39 crore) confirmed by multiple press sources (FE, TBS). ROA 0.01% and ROE 0.67% from StockAnalysis. NPL of Tk 21,357 crore at 41.6% of gross loans: auditor-verified by MABS & J Partners and A Wahab & Co from the 2024 audit, confirmed by multiple TBS and The Daily Star reports; implies a gross loan portfolio denominator of approximately Tk 51,340 crore. StockAnalysis 'Gross Loans' figure of Tk 65,290 crore is inconsistent with the 41.6% NPL ratio and likely includes off-balance-sheet contingent items or forced loans; total_loans_bdt uses the NPL-consistent denominator. CRAR of 0.2% with RWAs of Tk 52,954 crore confirmed from New Age Bangladesh ('Banks CRAR plunges to record 3 per cent, 14 in red', December 2024 data); this is far below the Basel-III minimum of 12.5% (10% under Bangladesh Bank's phased-in schedule). Capital shortfall estimates vary by reporting period: approximately Tk 5,100 crore (February 2026 BB statement), Tk 4,470 crore (March 2025), Tk 4,172.82 crore (June 2025) -- variation reflects ongoing NPL deterioration. Rating: NCRBD (National Credit Ratings Limited) assigned BBB+ long-term / ST-3 short-term per Bangladesh Bank ECAI credit rating schedule for 2025-26, valid August 19, 2026; parenthetical sovereign-support rating of AAA/ST-1 also listed, reflecting implicit government guarantee; the BBB+ standalone rating reflects severe financial distress without state support. The FID board appointment of Saiful Islam (former BB Executive Director) on April 27, 2026 is the first governance change under the BNP government at Rupali Bank. BB rejected the bank's AD branch expansion in Rajarbagh citing deteriorating performance from BSD inspection. Combined capital shortfall of Tk 31,000 crore across Agrani, Janata, Rupali, and BASIC is February 2026 BB-reported aggregate; Rupali's share is approximately Tk 5,100 crore per the same BB disclosure. [2026-06-08 audit correction] FY2024 net profit corrected from Tk 113.92cr (1,139,200,000: 10x unit error) to Tk 11.22cr (112,200,000) per Financial Express/Daily Star/TBS.