Rupali Bank plunges into Tk168cr quarterly loss as bad loans bite
During this period, its loss per share was Tk3.24
State-owned Rupali Bank PLC has sunk into a loss of Tk168 crore in the July-September quarter of 2025, a sharp reversal from the Tk6 crore profit recorded in the same period a year earlier.
The steep fall in earnings reflects the state-run bank's deepening financial distress amid ballooning default loans and mounting operating expenses, according to insiders.
As per the bank's unaudited financial statement published on its website, the loss per share stood at Tk3.44 for the quarter, compared to earnings per share (EPS) of Tk0.13 in the same period of 2024.
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For the first nine months of 2025, the bank reported a cumulative loss of Tk158 crore, against a profit of Tk49.80 crore during the same period of the previous year.
During this period, its loss per share was Tk3.24, compared to earnings per share of Tk1.02 a year earlier. The bank's net asset value per share stood at Tk32.17, while its net operating cash flow per share came in at Tk128.19.
In a price-sensitive statement published on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Rupali Bank attributed its declining profitability to a significant drop in interest income, caused largely by a rise in classified loans in recent years.
Its net interest income stood negative at Tk1,160 crore in the January-September period, reflecting the widening gap between interest expenses and income.
The bank also reported spending Tk550 crore on salaries and allowances, further straining its balance sheet.
Following the earnings announcement, Rupali Bank's share price plunged 9.84% to close at Tk17.40 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, wiping out Tk93 crore in market capitalisation in a single day.
Meanwhile, in its audit report for 2024, audit firms MABS & J Partners and A Wahab & Co revealed that Rupali Bank had failed to recognise provisions worth Tk15,375 crore against bad loans. The auditors warned that the non-recognition of this shortfall materially affected the bank's reported profit, liabilities, and shareholders' equity.
Although Bangladesh Bank allowed the state-owned lender to prepare its 2024 financial statements without recognising the full provision deficit due to insufficient profits, the auditors noted that such treatment was not aligned with international financial reporting standards.
As a result, the bank did not declare any dividend for shareholders for 2024.
By the end of 2024, the bank's non-performing loans (NPLs) jumped 113% year-on-year to Tk21,357 crore, representing 41.6% of its total loan portfolio – one of the highest NPL ratios in the country's banking sector.
Rupali Bank's audited report also listed its top defaulters, led by Blue Planet Group with Tk1,029 crore in unpaid loans, followed by Beximco Group with Tk986 crore, and the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation with Tk907 crore.
