The amount of money held under names of Bangladeshis in Swiss banks surged about 41 per cent in 2025, reaching the second-highest level on record and reviving questions about the nature and ownership of the funds.
According to annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Thursday, Swiss banks’ liabilities to Bangladeshi clients and institutions rose to 834.16 million Swiss francs (CHF) at the end of 2025, equivalent to about Tk 12,741 crore.
The figure increased sharply from CHF 598.2 million, or about Tk 8,972 crore, at the end of 2024 and from only CHF 17.71 million in 2023, when deposits linked to Bangladeshis fell to their lowest level since country-specific data began being published in 1996.
The 2025 amount is now just below the all-time peak of CHF 871.1 million recorded in 2021.
The rise was driven overwhelmingly by deposits held by Bangladeshi banks.
Funds placed by Bangladeshi banks in Swiss financial institutions increased by about 43 per cent to CHF 822.7 million in 2025 from CHF 576.6 million a year earlier.
As a result, bank-related deposits accounted for about 98.6 per cent of all funds linked to Bangladesh in Swiss banks, up from 97.8 per cent in 2024.
The data may largely reflect trade-related transactions and routine international banking operations.
In contrast, deposits held in individual customer accounts declined by nearly 10 per cent to CHF 11.4 million from CHF 12.62 million a year earlier.
Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told New Age that most of the funds reported under Bangladesh›s name in Swiss banks were likely linked to banks› nostro accounts, trade-related transactions and deposits held by Bangladeshis living abroad.
However, he said that some portion of the funds could also involve laundered money and that further scrutiny would be needed before drawing any conclusion.
He said Bangladesh should pursue bilateral arrangements with Switzerland, as many countries do, to obtain information on the ownership, nature and sources of the deposits.
Such cooperation could help authorities determine whether any of the funds are linked to illicit financial flows or money laundering, he added.
Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank›s Dhaka office, told New Age that the available data do not provide sufficient information to identify suspicious transactions or illicit funds.
He noted that deposits held by Bangladeshi banks account for about 97 per cent of the total funds reported in Swiss banks, making it difficult to infer the extent of personal or potentially illegal holdings.
He also said that Swiss banking has become much more transparent in recent years, reducing its attractiveness as a destination for concealing illicit wealth.
