Bangladesh’s banking and capital market sectors have been pushed to the brink of crisis by years of plunder, poor economic management, weak financial discipline, and the failure of regulatory institutions, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Wednesday.

“Many successful companies and several banks are now suffering from serious capital deficits in the private sector. Non-performing loans, capital flight, and embezzlement carried out in collusion between boards and management are behind it,” he said.

Speaking as the chief guest at the ‘Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) Summit 2026’ held at a hotel in the capital, the minister painted a stark picture of the country's financial sector and called for urgent reform through transparency and accountability.

The summit was organised jointly by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Bangladesh, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB), aiming to bring transformative change in corporate governance and macroeconomic stability.

Khosru said the country's auditing and reporting ecosystem has nearly broken down, enabling a string of financial crimes from money laundering through banks and loan fraud using false information to the listing of fraudulent companies on the stock market.

“Companies that misrepresented themselves to enter the stock market have in many cases grown into large firms. This is discouraging genuinely transparent companies from coming to the market,” he said.

He stressed that without restoring investor confidence in balance sheets and audit reports, no meaningful foreign investment could be attracted.

On the question of bank ownership, the minister said the true owners of a bank are its shareholders and depositors, not individuals who sit on boards and approve loans for themselves.

“Conflicts of interest must be strictly scrutinised going forward. The current government wants to build a transparent and accountable economic system," he said, urging members of ICAB and ICMAB to ensure self-regulation within their respective professions.

Khosru said major international fund managers and investment institutions are now showing strong interest in Bangladesh.

“I meet with international fund managers every day. They are talking about forming billion-dollar funds focused on Bangladesh,” he said, adding that global institutions including JPMorgan are keen to enter the country.

The minister said the government is planning significant deregulation in the capital market, the financial sector, and the National Board of Revenue (NBR), but stressed that the cooperation of professionals is essential for its success.

Finance Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder chaired the event. FRC Chairman Dr Md Sajjad Hossain Bhuiyan presented the keynote paper.

S.M./CitizenTimes