Bank Sub-Branch Deposits Rise 5.7%, Loans Fall 7.7% in Q2

Deposits mobilised through banking sub-branches rose 5.7 percent to Tk84,263 crore at the end of June 2026, up from Tk79,717 crore in March, according to the latest report from Bangladesh Bank.

A bank sub-branch is a small, subordinate banking office that operates under the supervision of a nearby full-fledged branch to provide basic financial services at a lower operational cost.

The central bank’s quarterly report on scheduled banks’ sub-branches showed that deposit growth through sub-branches significantly outpaced the overall banking sector’s 2.4 percent growth during the April-June period.

The share of sub-branch deposits in total banking sector deposits edged up to 3.8 percent in June from 3.7 percent in March. Rural areas accounted for 33.9 percent of total sub-branch deposits, up from 32.8 percent in the previous quarter.

The total number of deposit accounts increased 5.9 percent to 8,969,198 in June from 8,473,697 in March.

Women’s account ownership rose slightly, accounting for 38.4 percent of total deposit accounts, compared with 38.2 percent in the previous quarter. However, the share of total deposits held in women’s accounts declined from 26.2 percent to 25.9 percent.

In contrast to deposit growth, outstanding loans and advances disbursed through sub-branches declined 7.7 percent to Tk20,602 crore at the end of June, from Tk22,309 crore in March.

The contraction came despite a 1.4 percent increase in aggregate lending across the broader banking sector.

Sub-branch loans accounted for 1.1 percent of total loans disbursed by scheduled banks as of June 2026. The rural share of sub-branch loans rose to 35.8 percent from 31.8 percent, indicating stronger loan distribution in rural areas compared with urban centres.

The total number of loan accounts fell 5.3 percent to 240,010 from 253,512.

Women borrowers increased their share of total loan amounts to 14.7 percent from 14.0 percent, while their share of loan accounts rose to 18.9 percent from 18.3 percent.

During the April-June quarter, 30 new rural sub-branches and 19 urban sub-branches were opened, while eight sub-branches were closed or merged.

As a result, the total number of sub-branches reached 5,033 across 50 scheduled banks at the end of June, up from 4,992 in March. Rural sub-branches accounted for 49.5 percent of the total network.

Dhaka district had the highest number of sub-branches at 1,007, followed by Chattogram with 470, Cumilla 218, Narayanganj 170 and Gazipur 168.

Among scheduled banks, IFIC Bank PLC operated the largest network with 1,224 sub-branches, followed by NRBC Bank PLC with 688, Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC with 350, Pubali Bank PLC with 281 and Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC with 271.