The Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks to report on loan defaulters and identify borrowing companies and individuals linked to potential candidates in the upcoming national election, as part of an effort to create a complete and accurate database of loan defaulters before nomination filings.

The central bank in a report said that banks must prepare updated, reliable and fully verified loan information so that defaulter status of election candidates could be assessed without ambiguity.

It stressed that correct reporting of borrowers, related parties and guarantors would be crucial for maintaining a credible loan database during the election period.

The directive comes at a time when the banking sector is grappling with a record volume of non-performing loans.

Default loans reached Tk 6.44 lakh crore in September 2025, almost double within a year. More than Tk 4 lakh crore of these loans remain stuck in court cases and another Tk 1.5 lakh crore in overdue loans cannot be treated as default because of wide-ranging High Court stay orders.

BB officials said that these stay orders had become a major shield for powerful borrowers, allowing them to avoid classification and maintain access to credit.

They said that election-related loan data must be updated, corrected and verified urgently.

Banks were told to report every loan in the Credit Information Bureau database in the correct classification category, following the central bank’s rules on loan classification and inspection guidelines.

If any loan remained unreported, banks must immediately include it in the CIB database.

The central bank also reminded banks that non-transactional credit card charges, such as annual fees, CIB fees or SMS fees, cannot be treated as overdue debt for the purpose of reporting customers as defaulters.

If any customer has been incorrectly classified due to unpaid non-transactional charges, banks must correct their status in the CIB system.

Banks were also directed to update the National ID and TIN information of all borrowers and all persons connected to the loan accounts.

The Bangladesh Bank said that this was necessary to meet the legal definition of a defaulter under the Bank Company Act and to ensure that all related parties were properly recorded in the CIB system.

To accelerate the settlement of CIB-related court cases, the central bank asked banks to appoint lawyers promptly and take necessary steps to resolve writ petitions filed by borrowers to avoid being marked as defaulters.

Banks must also notify the CIB immediately about cases that have expired or have been vacated by the court so that the data can be corrected without delay.

These instructions reflect growing concerns about political influence and financial irregularities ahead of the election.