Bank accounts, with over Tk1cr, rise by 246 in March quarter

Despite runaway inflation, the number of bank accounts, with deposits exceeding Tk1 crore, has increased by 246 in the January-March quarter compared to the previous three months.

According to a central bank report, as of March, there were 110,192 accounts with deposits exceeding Tk1 crore. Out of these accounts, 76,790, or 70%, are in private banks, while the second highest number of accounts, 23,801, are in state-owned banks.

The remaining accounts are held in specialised banks and foreign banks. In December, the number of accounts with deposits above Tk1 crore was 109,946.

Bankers said such an increase in rich accounts – belonging to both individuals and institutions – came thanks to higher profits in businesses amid price hikes. The number of individuals having at least Tk1 crore, which the central bank does not publish, is much higher, they believe.

The rich accounts, which have been on the rise since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country in early 2020, witnessed a fall of 2,000 in number in the September quarter of the last year and stood at 1.06 lakh, according to the report titled "Scheduled Banks Statistics".

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, told The Business Standard, "A large part of the rich accounts belong to various businesses. The size of our economy is gradually increasing. The size of many companies has exceeded the billion-dollar mark over the last few years. Therefore, it is natural that the money and transactions in the accounts of our institutions will increase."

Mentioning the importance of how personal accounts with deposits of more than Tk1 crore have increased, the veteran banker said, "An increase in personal accounts means an increase in the number of millionaires. But we do not have any details about that. Along with the increase in institutional millionaire accounts, our loans have also increased. As a result, the whole picture will be clear if you get the details about loans against the rich accounts."

The Bangladesh Bank does not have statistics regarding the number of individuals who hold accounts with crores of taka. Officials of a number of public and private banks said only 5-7% of such accounts belong to individuals, while public and private organisations including local and foreign companies, own the rest.

According to the central bank, at the end of March, the deposits in bank accounts were 16.13 lakh crore against 14.11 crore accounts. Of this, Tk6.91 lakh crores are deposited in the rich accounts, which is 42.83% of the total deposits.

At the end of March, the total deposits in these accounts increased by Tk13,272 crore compared to December. Around Tk25,000 crore has increased in the entire banking system during this period. Accordingly, 53% of the new deposits went to rich accounts.

More deposit growth in villages than in cities

The rate of increase in deposits in urban areas is higher than that in rural areas. Deposits in the banking sector increased by 1.58% in the March quarter compared to December, the central bank said. Out of this, urban areas have seen an increase of 1.54% and rural areas by 1.72%. However, there was negative growth in rural deposits in the December quarter.

According to Mohammad Ali, managing director of Pubali Bank, account opening under financial inclusion is increasing, and deposits are rising in villages due to the opening of sub-branches of banks.

He said that earlier deposits were lower due to the lack of bank branches in villages. Now banks are spreading to villages through sub-branches, thereby increasing deposits.

"Deposits have grown to around Tk1,400 crore due to our opening of over 100 sub-branches. Village people are also feeling comfortable depositing money through formal channels rather than through informal channels," he told TBS.