বাংলাBangladesh’s banking sector is facing growing problems in recovering agricultural loans despite increased lending. According to Bangladesh Bank data, total outstanding agricultural loans stood at Tk 63,574 crore at the end of fiscal year 2025-26, with Tk 18,578 crore classified as defaulted.
This means 29.22 percent of total agricultural loans are now in default. The situation is particularly alarming at several banks. At Union Bank, Tk 104.65 crore of its Tk 110.53 crore outstanding agricultural loans is classified as defaulted, representing 94.68 percent.
Social Islami Bank has Tk 201 crore in outstanding agricultural loans, of which Tk 160 crore is defaulted. First Security Islami Bank has Tk 98 crore in default loans out of Tk 174 crore, while Global Islami Bank has Tk 38.44 crore defaulted out of Tk 78 crore. EXIM Bank has Tk 180 crore in default agricultural loans against Tk 488 crore outstanding.
Outside the five Islami banks, National Bank has Tk 226 crore in default agricultural loans out of Tk 354 crore. In terms of value, Bangladesh Krishi Bank has the highest agricultural loan default, with Tk 11,223 crore defaulted out of Tk 22,129 crore outstanding.
Experts say farmers’ financial difficulties and irregularities in loan distribution may both contribute to the rise in agricultural loan defaults. Bangladesh Bank has also stressed the need to analyze field-level data to identify the reasons behind the increase.
Despite the rise in defaults, agricultural lending has not stopped. Banks disbursed Tk 42,834 crore in fiscal 2025-26 against a target of Tk 39,000 crore. For fiscal 2026-27, Bangladesh Bank has set a target of Tk 60,000 crore for agricultural and rural lending.
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