DSE’s Tk87cr FDRs in four merging banks stuck in limbo
The Dhaka bourse is now reallocating funds from FDRs into safer govt treasury bills
Nearly one-third of the Dhaka Stock Exchange's fixed deposit receipts, totalling Tk87.39 crore, in four Shariah-based banks currently undergoing a merger remain stuck as the repayment process remains uncertain.
Amid a liquidity crisis and heavy non-performing loans, these banks have failed to repay the bourse despite the FDRs reaching maturity.
A total of five Shariah-based banks – EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank – are being merged into a single entity under Bangladesh Bank. While the banks' boards have been dissolved and share trading suspended, the handling of institutional investors' deposits is still under the restructuring process.
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According to DSE's latest annual report for FY25, the bourse has 87.39 crore investment in four banks, with Tk48 crore in EXIM Bank, Tk19.39 crore in Union Bank, Tk16 crore in Global Islami Bank and Tk4 crore in Social Islami Bank.
Due to a fragile situation – marked by a liquidity crunch and difficulties in repaying investors' savings – the DSE is diversifying its investments into government treasury bills, a safer investment instrument in the country, by encashing its FDRs.
As of June 2025, the total FDRs of the DSE stood at Tk356.81 crore, compared to Tk832 crore at the end of June 2024.
Its latest annual report shows that it had encashed Tk639 crore and invested Tk221.83 crore in one-year and six-month treasury bills.
Despite repeated attempts urging the banks in question to repay, the DSE has failed to recover the invested funds, a DSE official said, on condition of anonymity.
He said that the FDRs were kept in the banks by the previous boards at a time when the banks' financial health did not appear to be poor. "After the fall of the previous government in August 2024, their real financial condition became apparent. Since then, we have sent several letters to the banks urging repayment, but despite the FDRs reaching maturity, they have failed to return the funds to the bourse," he added.
"Now, we see that the central bank is merging the banks. We have heard that institutional investors will get their funds repaid, and we are waiting for guidance from the central bank," said the DSE official.
A director on the DSE board said that due to a volatile capital market, lower turnover, and zero new company listings in the past year, the bourse's non-operational income has been sustaining it, with most earnings coming from interest income.
"If the bourse does not get back the invested Tk87 crore in the banks, its financials will be significantly affected, and the entire amount could be lost. But the management is trying to recover the funds," he added.
These FDRs continue to be recorded at carrying value while recovery efforts are being pursued by the DSE. Over the years, due to capital market volatility and lower turnover throughout the year, the DSE has faced significant declines in revenue and has incurred operational losses.
Amid the backdrop of a downward-trending capital market, its non-operating income – from interest on FDRs, rental income, and dividend income – has helped keep the DSE in the green.
Non-operating income surpasses DSE's operational income
Its annual report showed that its non-operational income — from interest, building rentals, and dividends from CCBL and CDBL — surpassed its operational income in 2024-25.
Its revenue from operations stood at Tk101 crore, mostly from Tk59 crore in share transaction fees, with the rest from fees charged to listed companies and data sales.
Meanwhile, its non-operational income surged to Tk121 crore, mostly Tk94 crore from interest, with the remainder coming from rentals, dividends, and other income, including some long-standing dues.
In that year, the DSE incurred hefty operating losses of Tk49 crore, but its non-operational income generated a profit of Tk31 crore, down nearly 46% from Tk61.3 crore in FY24.
Several directors and officials attributed the DSE's losses primarily to capital market volatility over the year, driven by political instability and economic factors following the regime change in August 2024.
