Fixed deposits with banks have been on the wane for reasons like optional switch to better instruments and FDR liquidation to defray election spending or for perceived vote-related uncertainty, sources say.
Although total deposit in the banking system grew 3.42 per cent in the fourth quarter of the last calendar year of 2025, the growth in fixed deposits, which constituted almost half the entire deposits, dropped significantly.
Bankers and money-market analysts say the deposit pattern in banks changes in recent times with fixed depositors having shifted towards MIS (monthly income scheme), DPS (Deposit Pension Schemes), millennium scheme and double-benefit scheme to gain more.
As a matter of the fact, they have said, the growth of the fixed-deposit receipt, which accounts for 48.33 per cent of the total deposits, dropped to 2.29 per cent during the October-December period of 2025 as compared to an increase of 5.49 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter (July-September 2025).
According to data with Bangladesh Bank, total deposit liabilities (excluding interbank deposits) of the scheduled banks increased by Tk 694 billion or 3.42 per cent to Tk 21.0 trillion during the October-December quarter as compared to an increase of Tk 345 billion or 1.73 per cent and Tk 583billion or 3.20 per cent n the previous quarter (July-September) and the corresponding quarter (October-December 2024) of the previous year respectively.
The share of urban deposits in total deposits at the end of the October-December 2025 quarter was 84.07 per cent as compared to 84.07 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter (July-September 2025) and 84.48 per cent at the end of the corresponding quarter (October-December 2024), according to the data.
The fixed deposits increased by Tk 227 billion or 2.29 per cent to Tk 10.15 trillion at the end of the quarter under review as compared to an increase of Tk 516 billion or 5.49 per cent and an increase of Tk 268 billion or 3.15 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter (July-September 2025) and the corresponding quarter (October-December, 2024) of the previous year respectively.
The share of savings deposits in total deposits declined from 20.66 per cent on September 30, 2025 to 20.49 per cent on December 31 2025.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NRBC Bank PLC Dr Md. Touhidul Alam Khan says the election cycle significantly influenced market liquidity at that moment. Many stakeholders withdrew their funds or opted not to renew fixed deposits to meet election-related expenditures or simply to remain liquid during the government-transition period.
"Consequently, we observed a trend where savings were liquidated and converted into cash holdings," he told the FE writer.
"Moreover," the seasoned banker notes, "this behaviour was driven by a precautionary motive. Depositors preferred holding cash rather than keeping it in the bank due to prevailing uncertainties regarding the post-election economic landscape. Consequently, funds did not flow through the usual formal banking channels."
Seeking anonymity, the treasury head of a private commercial bank said fixed depositors moved to other areas like MIS, DPS, millennium and double-benefit scheme to gain more and banks treat these instruments as other deposits.
"That's why the growth in fixed deposit declined significantly while growth in other deposits grew 8.51 per cent in December-quarter from negative growth of 10.76 per cent recorded in previous quarter (July-September 2025)," he added.
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