Business Report :
Rupali Bank recorded an 83% year-on-year drop in profit in the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to declining interest income and a sharp rise in non-performing loans.
According to a price-sensitive disclosure filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on 21 July, the bank’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) fell to Tk0.07 for the April-June quarter, down from Tk0.42 in the corresponding period last year.
In the first six months of 2025, the bank’s consolidated EPS declined by 78%, dropping to Tk0.20 from Tk0.89 in the same period a year earlier.
Rupali Bank shares were not traded today owing to the record date for an upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM), where shareholder consent will be sought for issuing new shares to the government in exchange for share money deposits.
In its disclosure, the bank attributed the decline in interest income during the first half of the year to a surge in classified loans, which adversely affected its profitability.
The audit report for 2024, prepared by MABS & J Partners and A Wahab & Co, highlighted that Rupali Bank did not recognise required provisions worth Tk15,375 crore. The auditors noted that this non-recognition materially impacted the bank’s reported net profit, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity.
Although Bangladesh Bank permitted Rupali Bank to prepare its 2024 financials without accounting for the provision shortfall-citing insufficient profits-the auditors pointed out that the exemption contradicted international financial reporting standards.
Due to this provision gap, the bank refrained from declaring any dividend for 2024.
Rupali Bank’s consolidated net profit plummeted to Tk11.22 crore in 2024, a sharp decline from Tk62.46 crore the year before. Consequently, its EPS dropped to Tk0.23 from a restated Tk1.28. By the end of 2024, the bank’s non-performing loans had soared by 113%, reaching Tk21,357 crore-equivalent to 41.6% of its total loan portfolio.
In its audited financial statements for 2024, the bank also disclosed the names of its top loan defaulters. Blue Planet Group ranked highest, with defaulted loans of Tk1,029 crore, followed by Beximco Group with Tk986 crore and Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation with Tk907 crore.
To address the share money deposit issue, the bank has decided to issue 45.33 crore shares to the government at Tk15 per share-comprising a Tk10 face value and a Tk5 premium-in line with directives from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
