TDS Desk:

Nearly 40% of total deposits held in Bangladesh’s state-owned and private banks are concentrated in accounts containing at least Tk1 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

In other words, for every Tk100 deposited in the country’s banking sector, nearly Tk40 is held in accounts with deposits of Tk1 crore or more.

According to Bangladesh Bank, there are currently 186.38 million deposit accounts across the country’s banking sector. Of these, 1,41,562 accounts contain deposits ranging from Tk1 crore to more than Tk50 crore.

Together, these accounts hold around Tk8.76 lakh crore.

At the end of December last year, deposits in crore accounts stood at Tk8.36 lakh crore. At the time, there were 1,34,044 bank accounts with deposits ranging from more than Tk1 crore to Tk50 crore.

At the end of June, total deposits in all banks stood at Tk22.10 lakh crore. Of this amount, 39.61% was held in accounts containing deposits of Tk1 crore to more than Tk50 crore.

Another 56% of total deposits was held in accounts containing Tk1 lakh or more. This means that approximately 96% of all bank deposits are concentrated in crore and lakh accounts.

In contrast, nearly 90% of all bank accounts contain deposits of only a few thousand taka, but these accounts collectively hold just 4% of total deposits.

Interestingly, millionaire accounts represent less than 1% of the total number of bank accounts.

However, Bangladesh Bank’s statistics include accounts belonging not only to individuals but also to various government and private institutions.

As a result, experts say it is natural for institutional accounts to contain significantly more money than individual accounts.

Bangladesh Bank has divided bank deposits into 24 categories based on the amount deposited.

Five categories cover deposits ranging from Tk1 to less than Tk1 lakh. Nine categories cover deposits ranging from Tk1 lakh to less than Tk1 crore, while another 10 categories cover deposits of Tk1 crore to more than Tk50 crore.

Among the 24 categories, the largest amount of deposits is held in accounts containing more than Tk50 crore.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, there were only 2,136 bank accounts with deposits exceeding Tk50 crore at the end of June. These accounts collectively held Tk2.97 lakh crore.

A large proportion of these accounts therefore belonged to individuals or institutions with deposits of Tk100 crore or more. Crore accounts include both individuals and various organisations.

Analysts and banking-sector insiders say banks hold accounts belonging to individuals as well as government and private institutions. Institutional accounts typically contain several times more money than individual accounts.

Large government organisations, ministries and various development projects often keep substantial amounts of money in banks.

This explains why lakh and crore accounts hold a disproportionately large share of total deposits, even though ordinary individuals account for the vast majority of bank accounts.

At the individual level, many people with assets worth more than Tk1 crore also keep money in bank accounts registered in the names of companies.

Former Bangladesh Bank chief economist Mustafa K Mujeri said it is natural for institutional accounts to hold more money than individual accounts.

“There are many government institutions and private businesses that keep large amounts of money in banks. So, while ordinary depositors make up most bank accounts, millionaire accounts hold a much larger share of total deposits,” he said.

Bangladesh Bank statistics show that both the number of crore accounts and the amount deposited in them increased during the six months from December to June.

At the end of June, there were 2,136 accounts containing more than Tk50 crore, holding a combined Tk2.97 lakh crore.

At the end of December, there were 1,997 such accounts, with total deposits of Tk2.82 lakh crore.

Other high-value deposit categories also recorded substantial amounts. Accounts containing Tk40 crore to Tk50 crore numbered 839 and held Tk3,927.8crore. There were 445 accounts containing Tk35 crore to Tk40 crore, with deposits of Tk1,678.2crore.

Meanwhile, 666 accounts containing Tk30 crore to Tk35 crore held Tk2,164crore, while 978 accounts containing Tk25 crore to Tk30 crore held Tk2,710.9 crore.

The number of crore bank accounts has increased dramatically over the decades.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, there were only 47 bank accounts containing Tk1 crore or more in 1975.

The number rose to 98 in 1980, 943 in 1990, 2,594 in 1996, 5,162 in 2001, 8,887 in 2006 and 19,163 in 2008.

Growth accelerated further in subsequent years.

The number of crore accounts stood at 93,890 at the end of December 2020.

It increased to 1,09,076 in 2021, 1,09,946 in 2022, 1,16,908 in 2023, 1,21,362 at the end of December 2024 and 1,28,070 at the end of September 2025.