The banking sector in Bangladesh consists of several types of institutions. Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of Bangladesh and the chief regulatory authority in the banking sector Pursuant to Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 the Government of Bangladesh reorganized the Dhaka Branch of the State Bank of Pakistan as the central bank of the country, and named it Bangladesh Bank with retrospective effect from 16 December 1971. Other than the Central Bank itself, banks in Bangladesh are primarily categorized into 2 types. They are Scheduled Banks and Non-Scheduled Banks.
Scheduled banks
Scheduled banks are licensed under the Bank Company Act, 1991. Currently, there are 60 scheduled banks in Bangladesh.
There are 6 state owned commercial banks which are fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh.
Sonali Bank Limited
Janata Bank Limited
Agrani Bank Limited
Rupali Bank Limited
BASIC Bank Limited
Bangladesh Development Bank Limited
''Specialized banks (SDBs)''
3 specialized banks are now operating which were established for specific objectives like agricultural or industrial development. These banks are also fully or majorly owned by the Government of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Krishi Bank
Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank
Probashi Kallyan Bank
Private commercial banks (PCBs)
There is a total of 42 PCBs in Bangladesh are in operation right now. They are majorly owned by private entities and classified into two types.
''Conventional PCBs''
In total 34 conventional PCBs are now operating in the industry. They perform the banking functions in conventional fashion i.e. interest based operations.
South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Limited
Trust Bank Limited
United Commercial Bank Ltd
Uttara Bank Limited
Bengal Commercial Bank Ltd
''Islami Shariah Based PCBs''
There are 08 Islami Shariah-based PCBs in Bangladesh and they execute banking activities according to Islami Shariah-based principles i.e. Profit-Loss Sharing mode.
Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited
EXIM Bank Limited
First Security Islami Bank Limited
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Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited
Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited
Social Islami Bank Limited
Foreign commercial banks (FCBs)
In total 09 FCBs are operating in Bangladesh as the branches of the banks which are incorporated in abroad.
Non-scheduled banks are licensed only for specific functions and objectives, and do not offer the same range of services as scheduled banks. There are now 5 non-scheduled banks in Bangladesh.
Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank
Karmashangosthan Bank
Grameen Bank
Jubilee Bank
Palli Sanchay Bank
Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs)
Non-bank financial institutions, simply known as financial institutions, are those types of financial institutions which are regulated under Financial Institution Act, 1993 and controlled by Bangladesh Bank. Now, 34 FIs are operating in Bangladesh while the maiden one was established in 1981. Out of the total, 2 is fully government owned, 1 is the subsidiary of a SOCB, 15 were initiated by private domestic initiative and 15 were initiated by joint venture initiative. NBFI's include:
