Although the number of millionaire customers in the country’s banking sector is continuously increasing, the amount of their deposits is decreasing. After the political change, large depositors are withdrawing money from the country’s banking sector. The amount deposited in these accounts has decreased by about Tk 59,209 crore in the space of three months. This information has been revealed from the latest report of Bangladesh Bank.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the number of millionaire customers in the banking sector increased by 5,974 in the June quarter compared to the March quarter of this year. And the number of millionaire customers in the banking sector increased by 734 in the September quarter
compared to the June quarter. However, the amount of money deposited in the accounts of these millionaire customers decreased in the September quarter.
Industry insiders believe that this change in the behavior of large individual depositors (bank accounts of the super-rich) is mainly due to the leak of information about financial irregularities in various banks, the decision to merge weak banks, and political uncertainty.
Analysts say the exodus of the ultra-rich from banks signals a major risk, as large deposits form a bank’s strong liquidity base.
According to the central bank, the total number of account holders with deposits of more than one crore taka at the end of the June quarter of this year was 127,336. And at the end of the September quarter, the number of account holders with crore taka in the banking sector stood at 128,070.
Accordingly, the number of accounts with deposits exceeding one crore taka has increased by 734 in the space of three months.
The number of account holders with deposits of more than one crore taka increased in the June quarter compared to the March quarter of this year. At the end of March, there were 1 lakh 21 thousand 362. And at the end of June quarter, the number of account holders with deposits of more than one crore taka in the banking sector stood at 1 lakh 27 thousand 336. Accordingly, the number of accounts with deposits of more than one crore taka increased by 5 thousand 974 in the June quarter compared to the March quarter.
Meanwhile, although the number of crore taka account holders has increased, the amount of money deposited in these accounts has decreased. According to the central bank, the amount of money deposited in crore taka accounts at the end of June this year was 8 lakh 80 thousand 772 crore. And at the end of September, the amount of money deposited in these accounts stood at 8 lakh 21 thousand 562 crore. Accordingly, the amount deposited in these accounts has decreased by Tk 59,209 crore in a span of three months.
Central bank officials said that a crore-taka account does not mean a millionaire’s account. Because there are many institutions besides individuals on the list of those holding more than one crore taka in the bank. Again, there is no specific limit on how many bank accounts an individual and institution can open. As a result, one institution or individual has multiple accounts.
Among them, there are also accounts of crores of taka of various government institutions and organizations.
Former Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Dr. Toufiq Ahmed Chowdhury said, “From such a trend, it can be assumed that after the political change, large depositors became more cautious. This trend may be more in the case of those who had deposited money in weak banks. Apart from this, considering the foundation of the bank, many people consider it risky to keep large deposits in a single account. In this case, there may be a tendency to divide large amounts into small accounts and transfer them to other sectors.” He advised the central bank to look into the matter.
A Bangladesh Bank official, who did not wish to be named, said that high net worth individuals are always more sensitive to the political and policy environment. Therefore, after the environment changes, the tendency among them to transfer money to safe destinations increases. This is more likely to happen when large deposit accounts in the banking sector decrease.
