Foreword for the Sixth Edition

The popular uprising ignited by student protests of July-August 2024 has brought about a seismic change in the political landscape in Bangladesh whose ramifications are reverberating most loudly in the banking sector. The preceding year of 2023 when the distress in the banking sector stemming from a virtual collapse of governance standards was becoming acutely apparent can now rightfully be examined in-depth for corrective measures aimed at restoring the health of the banking sector as a vital prop for a thriving economy. The Interim Government, which has been in place since August 2024 has begun the process of addressing the weaknesses and fragility of the banking sector through bold and specific steps. It is matter of great pride that the Founder-Chairman of Banking Almanac Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed has been appointed to the cabinet position of Finance Advisor and tasked with leading the process of banking and economic recovery.

The sixth edition of the Almanac retains all the important features of its earlier editions. The users of the present edition of the Almanac will have access to carefully collected and compiled updated information on Bangladesh Bank and a wide range of recent government regulatory guidelines for the country's banking and financial institutions. Many of the recent credit and exchange rate policy guidelines of the Central Bank are also of great significance. These are included in the relevant section of the Almanac. The Editorial Board of the Almanac has tried to include in a structured manner the details on the organizational details of our banks and financial institutions as well as their capital structure, loan disbursement, products offered to clients, spatial distribution of facilities offered which remain the core information and data of this Almanac.

Our thanks go to the Bangladesh Bank from which we received great assistance which helped our work on the Almanac in a significant way. We would also be remiss if we do not thank the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB), the Bangladesh Leasing and Finance Companies Association (BLFCA), the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) and the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) for their support and constant encouragement without which it would have been difficult to continue our work on the present and past editions of this Almanac. We also owe deep gratitude to the banking institutions for their assistance which helped our work.

It has been a privilege to be asked to take on the responsibility as Acting Chairman of the Board of Editors. Personally, I am grateful to all the members of the Editorial Board who, with their constructive suggestions and valuable inputs, helped to enrich the presentation and contents of this edition of our Almanac. It is also my distinct pleasure to thank Mr. Abdar Rahman of ShikkhaBichitra and members of his dedicated team of researchers who collected and compiled the data and information for the Almanac in a most professional manner. The task was time-consuming and demanding which they accomplished with great care and commitment. Last but not the least the banks and financial institutions themselves deserve our heartfelt thanks for readily and timely sharing with us the information and data which we needed to prepare the present edition of our Almanac. We shall consider our work on this edition of our Almanac worthwhile, if all its intended users from the myriad areas of its relevance find it useful.