Private commercial banks weathered a steep downswing in the stockmarket last year to continue their profit growth. Many thought that the banks’ operating profit would come down due to the debacle in the stockmarket, as the key index of the Dhaka bourse plunged by around 37 percent in the year.
But the banks proved them wrong. Of the 30 private banks in Bangladesh, however, nine banks saw profits decline in the year.
The profit before tax mainly came, riding on their core banking business, financing of buoyant export and import, and channeling of still stable remittances.
In 2010, the banks made a profit of Tk 2,497 crore from the stockmarket. Out of them, the private banks made Tk 2,205 crore.
Four state banks — Janata, Rupali, Sonali and Agrani — also logged higher profit in the just concluded year compared to the previous year.
Janata Bank’s profit stood at Tk 1,500 crore, while Rupali and Sonali logged Tk 325 crore and Tk 1,458 crore respectively. Agrani Bank’s figures could not be known.
-With The Daily Star input
