BRAC Bank ranks among Forbes' top 500 banks globally as the only Bangladeshi lender

BRAC Bank has become the only Bangladeshi bank to feature in Forbes' inaugural "World's Top Performing Banks 2026" ranking, which listed the top 500 banks from 89 countries around the globe.

The US business magazine published the ranking, compiled in partnership with market research firm Statista, for the first time on 9 September, assessing banks based on their financial strength and performance.

According to Forbes, the ranking is based on objective financial data, drawing on information and research from leading data providers such as S&P Capital IQ, as well as data provided by the banks themselves.

The banks were evaluated across four key indicators: profitability, growth and earnings quality, capital and funding resilience, and asset quality and efficiency.

In addition, the banks were divided into six tiers based on their asset size.

Banks with assets exceeding $500 billion were classified as Tier 1 or global banks, while those with assets between $100 billion and $500 billion were placed in Tier 2 or large banks. Banks with assets between $50 billion and $100 billion were classified as Tier 3 or upper mid-size banks.

Banks with assets between $20 billion and $50 billion were placed in Tier 4, those with assets between $10 billion and $20 billion in Tier 5, and banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion in Tier 6.

BRAC, with 7,483 employees, ranked 73rd in Tier 5, the lower mid-size banks category, according to Forbes.

Established in 1999, BRAC Bank is currently led by Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, who serves as its managing director and chief executive officer.

Talking to TBS today (16 September), Tareq said, "This is a proud and meaningful milestone for BRAC Bank and Bangladesh. Being the first Bangladeshi bank to be featured in Forbes' 2026 list of the World's Best Banks, ranked 73rd among Lower-Middle Size Banks, is a recognition of our collective journey."

He also reaffirmed that they will remain firmly committed to building the Bank on the foundations of good governance, transparency and trust, while creating lasting value for our customers and the country.

"We are deeply thankful to our Board, customers, regulators and, above all, our colleagues across BRAC Bank, whose trust, dedication and hard work have made this recognition possible," added the managing director.

500 banks from 89 countries assessed on financial strength

BRAC Bank has been named the first and only Bangladeshi bank in Forbes' inaugural World's Top Performing Banks ranking, based on objective financial performance and balance sheet strength.

The ranking was prepared in partnership with market research firm Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform providing statistics, reports and insights across more than 80,000 topics, 22,500 sources and 170 industries.

The ranking used data from S&P Capital IQ, desk research and bank submissions, focusing on financial performance and balance sheet strength rather than customer surveys used in Forbes' previous rankings.

There are roughly 25,000 to 30,000 full-license commercial banks worldwide. Based on data availability and eligibility, 500 banks from 89 countries were selected for the final list.

The banks were assessed across four key dimensions: profitability, which carried a 30% weight; growth and earnings quality, 20%; capital and funding resilience, 25%; and asset quality and efficiency, 25%.

Why BRAC Bank earned the Forbes recognition

BRAC Bank's financial performance across these four dimensions placed it among the banks selected for the ranking.

On profitability, which was assessed using return on assets (RoA) and cost-to-income ratio, BRAC Bank's consolidated RoA stood at 1.67% in June 2026.

Its cost-to-income ratio, reflecting operational efficiency, stood at 42% during the same period.

On asset quality and efficiency, which considers credit quality, risk management and balance sheet resilience, the bank's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 2.03% in the first half of 2026.

BRAC Bank maintained Tk10,340 crore in regulatory capital, comprising Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital, which was the highest among Bangladeshi banks.

Its Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) stood at 15.81% in June 2026, above the minimum regulatory requirement of 12.5%.

For capital and funding resilience, assessed based on equity ratio and loan-to-deposit ratio, BRAC Bank's consolidated return on equity (RoE) stood at 21.52% in June 2026, while its advance and deposit ratio (ADR) stood at 59.94%.

On growth and earnings quality, which considers three-year earnings growth and stability as well as deposit growth, BRAC Bank recorded net profit after tax (NPAT) of Tk2,251 crore in 2025, representing around 57% year-on-year growth.

The bank's NPAT also increased 57% year-on-year to Tk1,423 crore in the six months ended 30 June 2026, compared with Tk906 crore in the corresponding period of 2025.

Its customer deposits reached Tk100,915 crore at the end of August 2026. The bank had achieved 29% year-on-year growth in customer deposits at the end of 2025 compared with the previous year.

BRAC Bank's international credit ratings also strengthened its standing, with a B+ rating from S&P Global Ratings and B2 from Moody's.

BRAC Bank falls under lower mid-size tier

Forbes grouped the banks into six asset-size tiers to enable comparisons among similarly sized institutions.

Tier 1 comprises banks with assets above $500 billion, Tier 2 includes those with $100–500 billion, Tier 3 $50–100 billion, Tier 4 $20–50 billion, Tier 5 $10–20 billion and Tier 6 $3–10 billion.

BRAC Bank falls under Tier 5, or lower mid-size banks, based on its total asset size.

The bank said the recognition is more than a global accolade and represents independent recognition of the underlying strength, quality and resilience of its financial performance.

It also said the recognition reflects the trust of its customers and the collective efforts of its colleagues, while encouraging the bank to continue building a stronger and more sustainable institution.

Country-wise representation

The final ranking includes 160 banks from the United States, including JPMorganChase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, US Bancorp and PNC.

China has 26 banks on the list, including China Merchants Bank, Bank of Ningbo, China Construction Bank and Bank of China.

Among South Asian countries, India has 26 banks, including HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

Pakistan has four banks: Allied Bank, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank and United Bank.

Sri Lanka has three banks: Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Hatton National Bank and Sampath Bank.

The Maldives has one bank, Bank of Maldives, while Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan have no banks represented in the ranking.