Business Report:
The net sales of national savings certificates downturn continue with net investment in the sector reaching a negative 6,063 crore in the just concluded financial year of 2024-25 due to high inflation, rising bank interest rates, changes in government borrowing priorities and challenging investment conditions.
The Bangladesh Bank recent data showed, the net NSC sales stood at negative Tk 21,124 crore in FY24 and negative Tk 3,295 crore in FY23 marking a negative trend continues for the third consecutive year. In June 2025 alone, net sales dipped by over Tk 169 crore as higher-yielding encashments continued to outweigh fresh investments, according to the central bank data.
Experts said negative sales occur when repayments on matured certificates exceed fresh investments, indicating that more savers are cashing in their certificates than buying new ones.
This has forced the government to lean more heavily on the banking sector to meet its budgetary financing needs, they said.
The FY25 budget initially targeted Tk 15,400 crore in net borrowing from NSCs. However, persistent weak sales forced a downward revision to Tk 14,000 crore. Analysts point to several reasons for this underperformance.
