Five banks hold 82% of deposits in small accounts

Five banks in Bangladesh hold 82.37 percent of the Tk 3,849 crore deposited in the Tk 10/50/100 accounts opened for marginalised people.

Two state banks -- Sonali and Agrani -- topped the list, accounting for 37.17 percent and 26.08 percent of the total deposits in the no-frills account (NFA), which require neither a minimum balance nor any service charge/fee.

The other three banks on the list are private banking financial institutions. Bank Asia stood third with 7.73 percent of the total deposits in the Tk 10/50/100 bank accounts whereas Islami Bank Bangladesh holds 7.61 percent and Global Islami Bank 3.78 percent.

The accounts have been opened under various initiatives taken by the Bangladesh Bank to ensure financial services to people from all segments of society.

Relatively higher interest rates than existing savings rates are offered for NFAs, the target group for which includes micro-savers such as farmers, garment workers, extreme poor, and the beneficiaries of social safety net programmes.

It is worth mentioning here that of the Tk 3,849 crore deposited in Tk 10/50/100 accounts of all scheduled banks in Bangladesh, state-owned commercial banks hold Tk 2,495 crore or 64.81 percent.

Sonali Bank PLC topped the list of banks with the highest number of NFAs.

After the July-September quarter of 2023, banks in Bangladesh had 2.71 crore NFAs, excluding the ones for school banking, street urchins and working children, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

Sonali Bank opened 25.06 percent of the total NFAs, while Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Agrani Bank opened 16.44 percent and 15.39 percent respectively.

Bank Asia stood fourth with 12.51 percent and Janata Bank fifth with 10.36 percent.

In addition, NFAs also play a significant role in channelising inward foreign remittances.

In the July-September quarter of 2023, the cumulative amount of foreign remittances received through these accounts reached Tk 642.68 crore, which is 4.47 percent higher than that in the previous quarter.

Moreover, individuals with Tk 10/50/100 accounts have received a cumulative amount of Tk 627.44 crore as on September 30 of last year as credit from both the Tk 200 crore and Tk 500 crore refinance schemes for the NFA owners.