Staff Reporter :
The number of bank accounts holding Tk 1.0 crore or more has declined following the political changes on August 5, which also triggered a liquidity crunch in the banking sector.
According to the Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) financial report for the July-September quarter, over Tk 26,000 crore was withdrawn from accounts held by millionaires. As a result, the balances of more than 1,500 accounts dropped below the Tk 1.0 crore threshold.
The report highlights that since the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of millionaire account holders has seen a significant rise. However, the exact number of genuine millionaires in the country remains uncertain, with approximate estimates derived from the number of crore-taka accounts in banks.
Bangladesh Bank’s historical data shows a steady increase in such accounts. In 1975, there were only 47 accounts holding over Tk 1.0 crore. By 2015, this number had surged to 57,516. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the figure stood at 82,625, growing further to 117,000 as of the latest report.
Economists attribute the recent withdrawals to panic among depositors amid political uncertainties. Weaker banks reportedly struggled to meet large withdrawal demands from millionaire account holders, prompting many to transfer their funds to more stable institutions.
This trend has led to the consolidation of funds in stronger banks, potentially inflating the number of Tk 1.0 crore accounts there.
Contrary to expectations, however, the overall number of such accounts has decreased, indicating shifting depositor behaviour and reflecting the challenges facing the banking sector during periods of political and financial instability.
