National Bank to be merged with UCBL

The National Bank Limited is set to be merged with United Commercial Bank Limited, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The decision for the merger came at a meeting of the stakeholders today (9 April), officials of both banks told The Business Standard. 

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar chaired the meeting.

The National Bank is yet to disclose its yearly financial statement for the whole of 2023.

According to its financial report for the first nine months of 2023, it's total disbursed loans were Tk42,749 crore and total liabilities were Tk48,453 crore including deposits.

During the January-September period, its net loss stood at Tk1,190 crore. Its retained earnings stood at Tk1,962 crore negative.

During the period, the bank had default loans of Tk12,368 crore, reflecting 28.92% of the total loan disbursed at the end of 2023, according to the central bank data.

National Bank's paid-up capital is Tk3,219 crore and its shares closed at Tk6.90 each on Tuesday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the United Commercial Bank (UCB) is yet to disclose its yearly financial statement for all of 2023 as well.

According to its January-September of 2023 financial report for the January-September 2023 period, its total disbursed loans were Tk49,590 crore and total liabilities stood at Tk62,752 crore, including deposits.

During the first nine months of 2023, its net profit was Tk170 crore. Its retained earnings were Tk538 crore. Its default loans stood at Tk2,807 crore, reflecting 5.99% of the total disbursed at the end of 2022, according to the annual report.

UCB's paid-up capital is Tk1,476 crore and its shares closed at Tk11.40 each on Tuesday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

According to central bank data, UCB's non-performing loan (NPL) is less than 5%, while central bank officials believe it is at least 50% for NBL.

The two banks together would make a branch network of over 450.