Sharia-based banks’ deposits up by 9.44% in Q1
In the Sharia-based banks, the volume of deposits has increased by 9.44% at the end of March this year, compared to that of December last year
With the transformation of Standard Bank and NRB Global Bank into Shariah-compliant ones, there has been a huge leap in deposits and loan disbursement of the Islamic banks in the January-March quarter of the current year.
In the Sharia-based banks, the volume of deposits has increased by 9.44% at the end of March this year, compared to that of December last year. The deposit growth was only 2.28% at the end of December last year compared to the July-September quarter.
At the end of March, deposits to Islamic banks stood at more than Tk3.57 lakh crore. On the other hand, credit disbursements increased by 9.62% -- which was 3.55% in December last year compared to September.
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After the end of the current year's first quarter, the amount of disbursed loan stood at more than Tk 3.22 lakh crore.
Apart from that, the advance deposit ratio (ADR) stood at 91%, though the ADR limit for the Sharia-base banks is 92%. It means that the banks can increase the amount of loan disbursement by 1% if they want.
The Bangladesh Bank revealed the data in a report styled "Developments of Islamic Banking in Bangladesh (October-December 2020)" on Tuesday.
According to the report, the deposits and loan disbursements have increased in the Islamic banks thanks to the transformation of Standard Bank and NRB Global Bank from conventional banking to Shaira-based ones.
The share of Sharia-based banks in the banking sector has crossed 27%. Referring to Islamic bond "Sukuk", the central bank mentioned the growing interest in Sharia-based investments.
The report also stated that the amount of excess liquidity in the Shariah-based banks stood at Tk30,409 crore in March, which is 3.72% higher compared to that of December.
However, the remittance inflow came down by 26% in the January-March quarter, and stood at Tk1,573 crore.
Islami Bank Limited is the major player in the Shariah-based banking sector with 31.14% market share. The figure in December last year was 36.13%.
As of March, a total of ten Islamic banks are providing services through 1,558 branches across the country.
Besides, there are 19 Islamic banking branches under different banks and 178 Islamic banking windows under eight conventional banks.
