The government today unveiled a list of the country’s top 20 loan defaulters in parliament as part of efforts to boost transparency and tackle the growing burden of non-performing loans, which reached Tk5,44,831.88 crore at the end of December 2025.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented the list in a written response to a question from Cumilla-4 MP Md Abul Hasnat, also known as Hasnat Abdullah.

According to the statement, the list includes major corporate defaulters such as S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited, S Alam Vegetable Oil Mills Limited, S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Limited, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited, Sonali Traders, Bangladesh Export-Import Company Ltd, Global Trading Corporation Limited, Chemon Ispat Limited, S Alam Trading Company (Pvt) Ltd, and Infinite CR Strips Industries Limited.

Other entities named include Keya Cosmetics Limited, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills Limited, Power Pac Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant Ltd, PowerPac Mutiara Jamalpur Power Plant Ltd, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited, Karnafuly Food Products Ltd, Murad Enterprise, CLC Power Company Limited, Beximco Communications Limited, and Rongdhanu Builders (Pvt) Ltd.

Notably, nine of the top 20 defaulters are affiliated with S Alam Group.

The finance minister also outlined a series of measures aimed at recovering defaulted loans. These include quarterly reviews with banks that have more than 10% classified loans, as well as regular monitoring of recovery progress in meetings organised by Bangladesh Bank.

The central bank has issued guidelines for resolving classified loans, particularly targeting banks with high default rates. Authorities have also introduced policies to identify wilful defaulters and take legal action, while banks have been instructed to strengthen their legal teams.

Additionally, banks have been directed to recover at least 1% of defaulted loans in cash by 30 June through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The government is also working to improve credit risk management and loan governance by adopting international standards, including expected credit loss-based provisioning. Measures have been taken to enhance collateral valuation by involving enlisted valuation firms alongside banks’ own assessments.

Legal reforms are underway as well, with amendments being considered to key laws such as the Bank Company Act, 1991, the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the Artha Rin Adalat Act, 2003, and the Bankruptcy Act, 1997.

Further initiatives include reviewing loan rescheduling policies, especially in the agricultural sector, and considering the publication of lists of wilful defaulters. The government is also exploring the establishment of private sector asset management companies to help reduce non-performing loans.