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Loans disbursed through sub-branches of scheduled banks expanded sharply in the July–September quarter of 2025, far outpacing overall banking sector growth, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

Outstanding loans through sub-branches rose 7.9 per cent to Tk 186.45 billion at the end of September, up from Tk 172.77 billion three months earlier. In contrast, overall loan growth in the banking sector stood at just 0.4 per cent during the same period.

Despite the stronger momentum, sub-branch lending accounted for only 1.1 per cent of total loans and advances of scheduled banks.

Rural, Women’s Share Slips

The rural share of sub-branch loans declined to 30.0 per cent from 34.8 per cent, indicating slower credit expansion in rural areas compared to urban centres.

Women’s participation in credit also edged down. The share of loans disbursed to women fell to 14.8 per cent from 15.2 per cent, while women’s share of total loan accounts dipped to 19.5 per cent from 20.0 per cent.

However, the total number of loan accounts increased 7.3 per cent to 221,037, up from 205,904.

Deposits Outperform

Sub-branches also outperformed the sector average in deposit mobilisation.

Outstanding deposits collected through sub-branches rose 5.9 per cent to Tk 720.56 billion, compared with 1.7 per cent growth in overall banking sector deposits. Their share in total deposits of scheduled banks edged up to 3.5 per cent from 3.4 per cent.

Yet the rural share of deposits slipped to 31.8 per cent from 33.7 per cent, reflecting continued urban dominance in deposit mobilisation.

In contrast to lending, women’s participation in deposits showed improvement. The share of women’s deposit accounts rose to 27.0 per cent from 26.3 per cent. Total deposit accounts increased 6.3 per cent to 7.21 million, with women’s share inching up to 36.8 per cent.

Dhaka Leads in Sub-Branches

As of end-September 2025, Dhaka district had the highest number of sub-branches at 989, followed by Chattogram (449), Cumilla (210), Narayanganj (169) and Gazipur (166).

Among banks, IFIC Bank PLC operated the largest sub-branch network with 1,225 outlets. It was followed by NRBC Bank PLC (693), Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC (316), Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC (271) and Pubali Bank PLC (252).

The data suggest that while sub-branches are driving faster credit and deposit growth than the sector average, greater focus is needed to strengthen rural outreach and women-focused lending to ensure balanced financial inclusion.