Government’s loan from banks reaches Tk 1.31 trillion, exceeding target

❐ Staff Reporter

In the outgoing fiscal year, the government borrowed Tk 1.31 trillion from the banking sector, which is Tk 27 trillion more than the set target.

According to economists, the government’s dependence on banks is increasing due to the large revenue deficit, which could have a negative impact on inflation and the private sector.

The government’s revenue revenue in the outgoing fiscal year is more than Tk 1 lakh crore short of the target. At the same time, less than half of the foreign debt target set in the budget has been achieved.

Foreign aid disbursements in the 11 months to May 2025-26 fiscal year stood at $4.58 billion, compared to $5.61 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Due to slow revenue collection and slow foreign borrowing, the government has had to rely on banks to implement the budget. Despite the target of borrowing Tk 1 lakh 4 thousand crore, it ultimately had to borrow Tk 1 lakh 31 thousand crore.

Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain said that private sector credit growth has dropped to around 5 percent, so even though the government has taken on additional debt, its pressure has not fallen on the private sector.

The monetary policy for the first half of the fiscal year targeted credit growth of 6.8 percent in the private sector and 21.8 percent in the public sector.