Green Banking Status and Role of Central Bank in Bangladesh: A Recent Trend

Almost all banks established green banking units in time, though there is a lack of seriousness in implementing green banking policies set by Bangladesh Bank. The aim of the study is to examine the green banking status and the role of central bank in Bangladesh. This study finds 22 banks achieved green finance (GF) target where UCB PLC stood in the top position at 36.21%, next to Jamuna Bank PLC at 29.85%, IBB PLC at 22.42%, and Bank Asia stood at the end at 5.47%. On the other hand, 17 commercial banks fulfill the sustainable financing (SF) target of the total term loan disbursement set by Bangladesh Bank. It is observed that in Q4, 2023, 17 banks out of 61 had exposure to green finance, where 16 banks were Private Commercial Banks (PCBs). One and only The Bangladesh Krishi Bank (Specialized Bank) occupied the top position, accounting for 56.48% of sustainable finance next to NRB Bank PLC 42.86%, BRAC Bank PLC 41.32%, etc., and Jamuna Bank PLC stood last position at 21.57%. The study also found the total target achieved by banks was 9.09% in GF and 27.24% in SF, which exceeded the target set by the Bangladesh bank and it is a milestone to achieve SDGs set by the UN by 2030. This study explores the basic concepts of green banking and green financing movement, present status, and their impact on bank performance in Bangladesh. In this study, secondary data is used, which were collected from related published articles, Bangladesh Bank annual reports, quarterly reports, sustainability reports, other commercial banks’ reports, World Bank reports, and newspaper reports from 2014 to 2023.