Trust Bank financial analysis: net interest income near zero, SMA loans quadruple and CRAR 12.76% (Oct 2026)

Investment considerations: profit held up in 2025 while net interest income shrank, treasury income grew and the loan book shifted into special mention

Trust Bank PLC is a private commercial bank whose sponsor, Army Welfare Trust (AWT), holds 60% of the shares; the other 40% float on the stock exchanges, with institutions at 21.37% and the general public at 18.59% [1 p.46]. At 30 June 2026 its solo balance sheet was BDT 667.6bn: deposits BDT 548.4bn, loans BDT 422.2bn, investments BDT 191.5bn and shareholders' equity BDT 29.9bn [2 p.7]. It ran 118 branches at the end of 2025, up from 102 in 2016 [1 p.110] [5 p.94]. It has a conventional book and an Islamic banking window, and in 2025 consolidated Trust Bank Investment PLC, Trust Bank Securities Limited and Trust And Pay Limited [1 p.252] [1 p.352].

For ten years Trust Bank has looked like a steady, mid-sized bank: deposits grew from BDT 173.1bn in 2016 to BDT 511.3bn in 2025, profit after tax stayed between BDT 1.7bn and 4.3bn a year, and the printed total capital ratio stayed between 12.76% and 14.62% [5 p.94] [1 p.110]. The 2025 accounts and the 2026 half-year show three changes underneath that. First, the interest margin has almost disappeared: net interest income was BDT 4,262m in 2025, half of 2024, and BDT 317m in the first half of 2026 [1 p.266] [2 p.9]. Second, the bank now earns most of its operating income from investments, mostly government securities. Third, the loan book changed shape: the classified ratio fell, but special-mention loans almost quadrupled and the auditor says rescheduled classified borrowers were reported as unclassified [1 p.253] [1 p.308].

Profit has held up so far. Profit before provision rose to BDT 14,347m in 2025, and profit after tax was BDT 3,542m against BDT 3,605m in 2024, helped by a tax charge that fell from BDT 4,725m to BDT 844m [1 p.266]. In 2026 consolidated EPS was BDT 2.17 for the first nine months against BDT 2.55 a year earlier, as announced on DSE on 29 October 2026 [11]. The shares closed the week to 29 October 2026 at BDT 13.3, which is 0.46 times the BDT 28.96 consolidated NAV per share at 30 September 2026 and 3.7 times 2025 solo EPS of BDT 3.56 [15] [11] [1 p.266]. At the end of 2025 the annual report printed a year-end price of BDT 17.30 and a price-earnings ratio of 4.86, the lowest year-end price in the ten years shown [1 p.110] [5 p.94].

Franchise: deposits tripled in ten years, and since 2023 the new money has gone mainly into government securities

Trust Bank's balance sheet roughly tripled in ten years: total assets went from BDT 210.2bn in 2016 to BDT 620.1bn in 2025 [5 p.94] [1 p.110]. Deposits grew in every year except 2021, when they dipped 1.2% after a 19.2% rise in 2020 [16]. The fastest years were 2024 (+22.5%) and 2020 (+19.2%); 2025 added 13.9% [16].

The funding mix has tilted towards term deposits. Fixed and term deposits were 67.1% of deposits in 2022 and 73.1% in 2025; current plus savings deposits fell from 31.5% to 26.2% [3 p.187] [1 p.264] [16]. Current accounts were BDT 60.4bn at Dec-2025, slightly below Dec-2024's BDT 62.4bn, while term deposits rose by BDT 60.9bn [1 p.264]. In H1 2026 savings deposits grew by BDT 9.8bn and term deposits by BDT 21.3bn [2 p.7]. Borrowings from banks and institutions were BDT 37.0bn at Dec-2025, of which BDT 17.2bn was the bank's own subordinated and perpetual bonds and BDT 7.2bn offshore-unit borrowing from foreign banks [1 p.316]; they rose to BDT 45.4bn at Jun-2026 [2 p.7].

Where the money went changed after 2023. Loans grew faster than deposits in four of the seven years 2017-2023, and the loan-deposit ratio (loans over deposits, our definition) peaked at 92.7% in 2018 [16]. Since then loan growth slowed to 13.7% in 2024 and 6.7% in 2025, while government securities grew from BDT 51.2bn at Dec-2023 to BDT 134.4bn at Dec-2025 and BDT 167.7bn at Jun-2026 (derived: investments less other investments) [3 p.187] [1 p.264] [2 p.7]. Government securities were 10.0% of total assets in 2022 and 25.1% at Jun-2026 [16]. The bank's printed credit-deposit ratio fell from 77.83% to 73.15% in 2025 [1 p.355].

The loan book is corporate and concentrated. Term loans were BDT 224.7bn of the BDT 403.5bn book at Dec-2025, and Dhaka and Chattogram divisions held BDT 347.1bn [1 p.307] [1 p.308]. The largest industry lines were other manufacturing (including steel and paper) at BDT 60.3bn, consumer financing at BDT 51.4bn, food and allied industries at BDT 36.4bn, textiles at BDT 31.3bn, service industries at BDT 31.5bn and RMG at BDT 27.2bn [1 p.307] [1 p.308]. 27 customer groups each borrowed 10% or more of the bank's capital, together BDT 197.1bn, 48.9% of all loans and 4.2 times total capital of BDT 46.9bn [1 p.304] [16]. The bank reported none of them as classified; several carry SMA status in the table, and one group (S. S. Steel, Al-Falah Steel & Re-rolling Mills, Generation Next Fashions and Gennext Technologies, BDT 7.7bn) is listed with STD, SMA, SS, DF and BL status [1 p.305].

Line items: interest paid took 89% of interest income in 2025 and 98% in H1 2026; investment income and a lower tax charge carried profit

Net interest income. Interest income rose 13.6% in 2025 to BDT 39,271m, but interest paid on deposits and borrowings rose 34.6% to BDT 35,008m, so net interest income fell from BDT 8,579m to BDT 4,262m [1 p.266]. Interest paid was 89.1% of interest income, the highest in the 2016-2025 series; the earlier range was 61.7% to 76.7% [16]. On our derived measures, interest income was 10.05% of average loans and interest paid was 7.29% of average deposits in 2025, both the highest in the 2017-2025 series [16]. The bank's own 'Cost of Deposits' was 6.86% in 2025 against 6.07% in 2024 [1 p.355].

The gap kept closing in 2026. In H1 2026 interest income fell to BDT 18,530m from BDT 19,192m while interest paid rose to BDT 18,213m from BDT 16,589m; net interest income was BDT 317m against BDT 2,603m [2 p.9]. The bank's explanation in the half-year accounts, on the consolidated basis (BDT 26.17 crore against 258.97 crore), is that net interest income decreased "mainly due to increase of Interest / profit paid on deposits and borrowings etc." [2 p.15]. Two reported facts sit beside this: term deposits, the costliest funding, were 73% of deposits at Dec-2025, and BDT 8,921m of interest was moved to interest suspense in 2025 rather than recognised as income, against BDT 3,172m in 2024 [1 p.264] [1 p.309]. The filings do not split the change in net interest income between deposit rates, suspended interest and loan mix.

Investment income. Income from investments was BDT 14,770m in 2025, up from BDT 8,878m, and was 64.3% of total operating income; in 2016 it was 26.3% [1 p.266] [16]. It rose again to BDT 7,679m in H1 2026, which the bank attributes "mainly due to increase of investment in government securities" [2 p.9] [2 p.15]. Adding it to net interest income, the combined spread on average earning assets was 3.87% in 2025, inside its 2017-2025 range of 3.62% to 4.57% [16]. A sensitivity from history: each 1% change in 2025 investment income moved operating income by about BDT 148m, or 1.0% of profit before provision [16].

Fees and other income. Commission, exchange and brokerage was BDT 2,853m in 2025 (2024: BDT 2,420m), and other operating income BDT 1,087m [1 p.266]. Fees and exchange have stayed between 11% and 17% of operating income since 2016 [16]. In H1 2026 they fell to BDT 1,470m from BDT 1,664m; the bank attributes this to a "decrease in exchange gain on foreign currencies" [2 p.9] [2 p.15]. Import business was BDT 195.1bn, export BDT 95.0bn and remittance BDT 233.9bn in 2025 [1 p.110].

Operating expenses. Total operating expenses rose 21.0% to BDT 8,625m in 2025; salaries were BDT 4,031m and other expenses rose to BDT 2,422m from BDT 1,459m [1 p.266]. The cost-income ratio was 37.55% (2024: 34.53%) [1 p.110]. In H1 2026 expenses rose to BDT 4,477m from BDT 3,713m while operating income fell, taking the ratio to 44.4% [2 p.9] [16].

Provisions. The provision charge was BDT 9,961m in 2025, almost double 2024's BDT 5,185m; it took 69.4% of profit before provision, the highest share in the 2016-2025 series, and was 2.55% of average loans [1 p.266] [16]. It included BDT 9,223m for loans and advances, BDT 523m for diminution in investments (including BDT 500m against investment in bonds) and BDT 216m of other provisions [1 p.266] [1 p.323]. In H1 2026 the charge was BDT 3,128m against BDT 4,810m, including a BDT 250m write-back on investments [2 p.9].

Tax. The tax charge was BDT 844m in 2025 against BDT 4,725m in 2024: current tax fell to BDT 940m from BDT 4,560m and deferred tax was a credit of BDT 96m [1 p.266]. Tax was 19.2% of profit before tax, the lowest ratio in the 2016-2025 series, which ran from 32.5% to 58.9% [16]. Profit before tax fell from BDT 8,330m to BDT 4,386m, and profit after tax was BDT 3,542m against BDT 3,605m [1 p.266].

Asset quality: the NPL ratio fell to 4.39% after BDT 10.9bn of write-offs and special rescheduling, while special-mention loans rose to BDT 27.5bn

Trust Bank's printed non-performing loan ratio has moved between 3.21% (2016) and 7.90% (2018) over ten years. It was 6.36% at Dec-2024 and 4.39% at Dec-2025, when classified loans fell from BDT 24,053m to BDT 17,709m [5 p.94] [1 p.110]. Annexure C prints the year's change in classified loans as minus BDT 6,343.6m [1 p.355]. Three other figures from the same notes describe how the book moved in 2025 [1 p.308] [1 p.309]:

First, write-offs. The bank wrote off BDT 10,883m of loans in 2025 against BDT 838m in 2024, and cumulative written-off loans rose to BDT 30,500m; the note says law suits have been filed for the whole written-off amount [1 p.309]. Classified loans at Dec-2025 plus the loans written off during 2025 come to BDT 28,592m, above the BDT 24,053m classified a year earlier [16]. The auditor's key audit matter notes that write-offs were made under BRPD Circular No. 04 of 18 February 2024 as updated by BRPD Circular No. 08 of 19 October 2025 [1 p.253].

Second, special mention. Special mentioned accounts, loans overdue but not yet classified, rose from BDT 7,160m to BDT 27,499m, and the general provision held against them rose from BDT 60m to BDT 1,163m [1 p.308] [1 p.322]. SMA was 6.8% of loans at Dec-2025 against 1.9% a year earlier, and classified plus SMA rose from 8.3% to 11.2% [16].

Third, rescheduling. In the key audit matter on loan provisioning, MABS & J Partners writes that Bangladesh Bank "provided policy support to borrowers who become classified/ non-performing through BRPD Circular No. 07 dated 16 September 2025, including additional relief measures approved by the relevant BRPD committee on a case-by-case basis. Significant proportion of the Bank's classified borrowers availed these special rescheduling and policy support facilities and were consequently reported as unclassified as at the reporting date." [1 p.253] The restructured-loan table lists BDT 10.9bn of restructured term loans, many dated 29-30 December 2025, including GPH Ispat, Doreen Shipping Line, Sena Edible Oil Industries and Biswas Trading & Construction [1 p.306] [1 p.307]. The auditor also says it compared classification and provisions with the amounts set by the Bangladesh Bank inspection team in letter BSD-7/52/2026-237 of 2 April 2026, after a tripartite meeting [1 p.253]. The report does not quantify how much of the fall in classified loans came from rescheduling.

Specific provisions were BDT 11,733m against classified loans of BDT 17,709m (66.3%), and with interest suspense of BDT 13,594m the two together exceeded classified loans [1 p.322] [1 p.309] [16]. Bad/loss loans fell to 66.0% of the classified book from 82.5%, while doubtful loans rose from BDT 2,343m to BDT 5,037m [1 p.308]. Required provisions of BDT 17,812.8m equalled provisions held (BDT 16,335.9m for loans plus BDT 1,476.8m off-balance-sheet) at Dec-2025 [1 p.309] [1 p.322], and Annexure C shows no surplus or deficit [1 p.323] [1 p.355]. The notes we read report no Bangladesh Bank provision deferral.

Capital: consolidated CRAR 12.76%, the lowest in ten years, with tier-1 and the buffer just below their requirements

At Dec-2025 solo CRAR was 12.94% and consolidated CRAR 12.76%, against 12.50% required including the 2.5% capital conservation buffer [1 p.230]. On the consolidated basis total capital of BDT 46,346m was BDT 959m above that requirement; solo it was BDT 1,589m above [16]. The consolidated ratio was the lowest in the ten printed years (2016-2025), whose earlier range ran from 12.92% to 14.62% [1 p.110] [5 p.94]. The same page shows consolidated tier-1 at 8.45% against 8.50% required and the consolidated capital conservation buffer at 2.45% against 2.50%; solo they were 8.55% and 2.55% [1 p.230]. CET-1 was 7.44% solo and 7.35% consolidated [1 p.230].

Bonds make up much of the capital. Subordinated bonds outstanding were BDT 13,220m at Dec-2025 (Bonds V, VI, VII and VIII) and the perpetual bond BDT 4,000m, a face value equal to 37.2% of consolidated total capital [1 p.316] [16]. Bond IV was fully repaid on 19 December 2025 and 60% of Bond V has been repaid at 20% each December since 2023; for Bond VI the note says '20% of the repayment only Premier Bank PlC and NRBC Bank PLC of the Bond has already been made on 29 December,2025', and its balance fell from BDT 3,900m to BDT 3,500m; no Bond VII repayment is shown [1 p.316]. To replace them the board approved an eighth subordinated bond of up to Tk800 crore on 27 May 2025, BSEC consented to BDT 5,000m on 30 September 2025, and BDT 3,620m of Bond VIII was outstanding at Dec-2025 [11] [1 p.316]. Tier-II capital rose to BDT 15,656m from BDT 14,414m [1 p.110].

Equity has grown mainly from retained profit and stock dividends. Paid-up capital rose from BDT 5,063m in 2016 to BDT 9,941m in 2025 through bonus issues, and equity was 4.6% of total assets in 2025, matching 2024 as the lowest in the series [5 p.94] [1 p.110] [16]. Risk-weighted assets grew 10.5% in 2025, while the balance sheet grew 13.3% [16].

2026 so far: H1 net interest income BDT 317m, profit after tax down 9% and 9M consolidated EPS BDT 2.17 against 2.55

The half-year to June 2026 shows the margin squeeze in full. Solo operating income fell 14.1% to BDT 10,075m and profit before provision fell 30.2% to BDT 5,598m [2 p.9] [16]. A lower provision charge (BDT 3,128m against BDT 4,810m) and lower tax (BDT 1,202m against BDT 1,813m) limited the fall in profit after tax to 9.2%, to BDT 1,268m; solo EPS was BDT 1.28 against BDT 1.40 [2 p.9]. Interest paid was 98.3% of interest income and investment income 76.2% of operating income [16].

The balance sheet kept growing: deposits rose to BDT 548.4bn and loans to BDT 422.2bn by June, and investments to BDT 191.5bn [2 p.7]. Solo NAV per share at 30 June 2026 was BDT 30.12 (derived from equity of BDT 29.9bn and 994.1m shares) [2 p.7] [2 p.13]. The half-year notes do not update classified loans, SMA or provision requirements, so the asset-quality figures in this note stop at December 2025.

Third-quarter figures were announced on 29 October 2026 on DSE: consolidated EPS was BDT 1.03 for July-September 2026 against BDT 1.25 a year earlier, BDT 2.17 for the nine months against BDT 2.55, and consolidated NAV per share BDT 28.96 at 30 September 2026 [11]. The Q3 statements themselves are not yet in our filings corpus, so the line items behind them are not analysed here. Consolidated NAV per share was BDT 30.06 at June and BDT 28.96 at September; between those dates the 8% cash dividend was paid and 5% bonus shares were credited (DSE, 31 August 2026) [11].

Governance: a 60% Army Welfare Trust sponsor, common-director dealings disclosed, and an unmodified audit with three emphasis-of-matter items

Army Welfare Trust is the sponsor shareholder; the annual report describes AWT as "the majority shareholder holding 60% of the outstanding shares" [1 p.57]. The annual report says the board "currently has 10 members which includes 08 nominated Directors from Army Welfare Trust (AWT), 01 Independent Director and 01 Managing Director & CEO" [1 p.18]; the directors' interest table lists two independent directors, Anisuddin Ahmed Khan and Nusrat Khan [1 p.351]. The chairman, Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, represents AWT and is also listed as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sena Kalyan Sangstha and of AWT [1 p.350] [1 p.351].

Related-party dealings are disclosed in the notes. In 2025 the bank paid office rent of BDT 50.9m to Army Welfare Trust, BDT 18.1m to Sena Kalyan Sangstha and BDT 371.9m to Sena Paribar Kalyan Samiti, paid BDT 108.2m of insurance premium to Astha Life Insurance and BDT 501.9m to Trust Securities & Logistic Support Ltd. for security services; each counterparty is described as 'Common Director' [1 p.352]. A balance of BDT 327.1m is shown for land purchase from Jolshiri Abashon Project [1 p.352]. Loans to directors were BDT 1.15m [1 p.352]. Separately, the large-loan table lists 'Sena Kalyan Sangstha & allied concerns' with BDT 9,657.8m outstanding (funded and non-funded) at Dec-2025, against BDT 6,444.9m a year earlier [1 p.305].

The 2025 auditor was MABS & J Partners (partner Masud Alam Chowdhury), which signed on 30 April 2026 [1 p.265]. Its opinion is unmodified. Under 'Emphasis of Matters' it writes: "We draw attention to the following matters. Our opinion is not modified in respect of these matters." [1 p.252] The three matters are the basis of preparation under Bangladesh Bank rules on loan classification and provisioning (Note 02); a component auditor's qualified opinion on subsidiary Trust and Pay Limited for recognising deferred tax assets on tax losses, where the auditor states "The impact of this matter is not material to the consolidated financial statements."; and prior-year figures that "have been rearranged, reclassified and revised to correct errors, where necessary" (Note 2.44) [1 p.252]. DSE also published an 'Emphasis of Matters' notice on 2 June 2026 [11]. Earlier accounts were audited by M. J. Abedin & Co. (2021) and jointly by MABS & J Partners and Hussain Farhad & Co. (2017 and 2019) [4 p.16] [6 p.204] [7 p.132].

Other 24-month DSE news: the name changed to Trust Bank PLC from 10 November 2024; the board decided on 18 December 2024 to inject BDT 312.5m into Trust Axiata Digital Limited; BSEC consented to the BDT 4,500m seventh subordinated bond (DSE, 1 December 2024) and to BDT 5,000m of the eighth (30 September 2025); and CRAB rated the bank AA1 / ST-1 with stable outlook on 2024 and 2025 accounts [11]. Subsidiary Trust Bank Investment PLC reported a loss of BDT 166.7m and EPS of minus BDT 5.56 for 2025 [1 p.402]. We found no board approval in the sweep of new branches, buildings or other capital spending with an amount or date.

Dividends: cash plus stock every year, but SPCD Circular 06 bars cash dividends from 2026 while paid-up capital is 50% below Tk2,000 crore

Trust Bank has paid a mix of cash and stock every year in the five years shown: 12.5% cash and 10% stock for 2021, 10% and 10% for 2022, 12% and 8% for 2023, 7.5% and 7.5% for 2024, and 8% cash and 5% stock for 2025 [1 p.46]. The board recommended the 2025 dividend on 30 April 2026, said it was "more than 30% of Net Profit after Tax", and BSEC consented to the 5% stock portion on 20 May 2026; both were credited or paid by 31 August 2026 [1 p.352] [11]. The Business Standard reported the BSEC consent on 22 May 2026 [12]. The 8% cash dividend on 994.1m shares comes to about BDT 795m, 22.5% of 2025 profit after tax (derived) [16]. At BDT 13.3 the BDT 0.80 cash dividend is 6.0% of the share price [16].

From 2026 the rule changes. Bangladesh Bank's SPCD Circular No. 06 of 23 May 2026 says a bank whose paid-up capital is below Tk2,000 crore may not pay any cash dividend, that eligible banks may pay at most 50% of their total dividend in cash, and that the rules apply to dividends for the year ending 31 December 2026 and after [8 p.1]. Trust Bank's paid-up capital was Tk994.1 crore at June 2026, 50.3% short of the threshold [2 p.13] [16]. At 5% stock dividends a year it would take about 14 years to reach Tk2,000 crore (derived); the authorised capital is Tk2,500 crore [16] [2 p.13]. For 2026, therefore, the circular leaves the bank able to declare stock dividends but not cash, unless paid-up capital is raised by other means; the filings disclose no rights issue or other plan to do so.

Peers: NPL 0.45pp above the NCC-Dhaka average, CRAR 0.45-2.60pp lower and the lowest printed ROA of the three

We compare Trust Bank with two listed conventional banks of similar size that print the same Bangladesh Bank 'Financial Highlights' annexure: National Credit and Commerce Bank (NCC) and Dhaka Bank. All figures are for the year to 31 December 2025 on the bank-only basis, with each bank's printed label quoted [1 p.355] [9 p.362] [10 p.378].

On the printed 'Percentage of classified loans against total loans and advances', Trust Bank's 4.39% compares with 4.12% at NCC and 3.77% at Dhaka Bank, 0.45pp above their average [1 p.355] [9 p.362] [10 p.378] [16]. Credit-deposit ratios are close: 73.15%, 74.87% and 76.86%. Printed Annexure C ROA was 0.57% for Trust Bank (its five-year table prints 'Return on Average Assets' 0.61%), 1.30% for NCC and 0.61% for Dhaka Bank [1 p.355] [9 p.362] [10 p.378]. Trust Bank's solo CRAR of 12.94% is 2.60pp below NCC's 15.54% (standalone five-year table) and 0.45pp below Dhaka Bank's 13.39% (basis not stated on that five-year page) [1 p.230] [9 p.183] [10 p.64] [16].

Funding-cost labels differ and are not compared: Trust Bank prints 'Cost of Deposits' (6.86%), NCC prints 'Cost of fund including administration (%)' (8.81%) and Dhaka Bank 'Cost of fund [deposit cost & overhead cost] (%)' (9.65%) [1 p.355] [9 p.362] [10 p.378]. All three earn heavily from investments: printed 'Income from investment' was 2.38% of total assets at Trust Bank, 2.51% at NCC and 2.01% at Dhaka Bank (derived) [16]. Within this set of three, Trust Bank has the largest balance sheet and the lowest printed ROA.

What's next: bond repayments in December 2026, the FY2026 accounts and dividend rule in April 2027, and LDC graduation in November 2029

The 2026 annual accounts. The FY2025 accounts were approved by the board on 30 April 2026 and FY2024's on 28 April 2025 [11]. The FY2026 accounts will show whether net interest income stayed near the H1 2026 level, how much of the BDT 27.5bn special-mention book moved into classification, and what happened to rescheduled loans [2 p.9] [1 p.308]. These move net interest income, the provision charge and the NPL ratio, and through retained profit, CRAR.

Capital. Bond V (BDT 1,600m left) has repaid 20% of its original BDT 4,000m on 28 or 29 December in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025; Bond VI (BDT 3,500m) had a partial BDT 400m repayment to Premier Bank and NRBC Bank only; Bond VII (BDT 4,500m) shows no repayment [1 p.316]. Each repayment reduces tier-II capital unless replaced; BDT 1,380m of the BSEC-consented Bond VIII had not been drawn at Dec-2025 (derived: BDT 5,000m consent less BDT 3,620m outstanding) [11] [1 p.316]. With consolidated CRAR BDT 959m above 12.5%, these moves bear directly on the ratio [16].

The dividend rule. SPCD Circular 06 applies to dividends for the year ending 31 December 2026 [8 p.1]. With paid-up capital of Tk994.1 crore, Trust Bank cannot pay a cash dividend for 2026 under it [2 p.13]. The 2025 cash dividend of 8% was the last declared before the rule took effect [1 p.352].

LDC graduation. The UN General Assembly adopted on 29 October 2026 in New York (30 October in Dhaka) the move of Bangladesh's graduation from least-developed-country status from 24 November 2026 to 24 November 2029, The Daily Star and The Business Standard reported [13] [14]. Trust Bank's RMG and textile loans were BDT 58.5bn at Dec-2025 and its export business BDT 95.0bn in 2025 [1 p.307] [1 p.110].

Passed events. The Q3 2026 results were announced on 29 October 2026 (consolidated 9M EPS BDT 2.17) [11]. The 2025 dividend was paid and bonus shares credited (DSE, 31 August 2026) [11].

Risks: deposit costs, the special-mention book and capital headroom matter most

Each risk below is tied to the line it moves, with the 2025 evidence. None is a forecast.

Two of these risks are visible in the history. Provisions took 69.4% of profit before provision in 2025, against a range of 22.1% to 48.4% in 2016-2024 [16]. Derived ROE was 13.3% in 2025; it was lower only in 2020 (11.2%) in the 2017-2025 series [16]. From history, each 1pp change in the 2025 ratio of interest paid to interest income moved net interest income by about BDT 393m, or 9.2% of 2025 net interest income [16].

Returns and key questions: margin recovery, the SMA book, capital and the 2026 dividend

What has driven returns to shareholders. Over 2017-2025 derived ROE ranged from 11.2% to 20.2%, and the bank paid cash plus stock dividends each year [16] [1 p.46]. Earnings quality in 2025 rests on three items that are not the lending margin: investment income of BDT 14.8bn, a tax charge of 19% of profit before tax, and a provision charge that was high but met in full [1 p.266] [16]. Year-end price fell from BDT 34.90 in 2022 to BDT 17.30 in 2025, and the printed year-end price-earnings ratio from 9.08 to 4.86 [1 p.110]. Year-end price over net asset per share was 0.61 in 2025, the lowest in the 2016-2025 series [16].

FAQ

What is Trust Bank's NPL ratio?

4.39% of loans at 31-Dec-2025 (BDT 17.7bn), down from 6.36% a year earlier, after BDT 10.9bn of write-offs; special-mention loans rose to BDT 27.5bn [1 p.355] [1 p.309] [1 p.308].

Does Trust Bank have a provision shortfall or deferral?

No deficit is reported: required provisions of BDT 17,812.8m equalled provisions held for loans (BDT 16,335.9m) plus off-balance-sheet exposures (BDT 1,476.8m) at Dec-2025 [1 p.323] [1 p.309]. The auditor notes that rescheduled classified borrowers were reported as unclassified [1 p.253].

Why did Trust Bank's net interest income fall?

Interest paid on deposits and borrowings rose faster than interest income: BDT 35.0bn against BDT 39.3bn in 2025, and in H1 2026 the bank cites the increase in interest paid [1 p.266] [2 p.15].

What is Trust Bank's capital adequacy ratio?

12.94% solo and 12.76% consolidated at Dec-2025, against 12.50% required; consolidated tier-1 was 8.45% [1 p.230].

Who owns Trust Bank?

Army Welfare Trust holds 60.00%; institutions 21.37%, the general public 18.59% [1 p.57].

What dividend did Trust Bank pay for 2025?

8% cash and 5% stock, paid and credited by 31-Aug-2026 [1 p.46] [11].

Can Trust Bank pay a cash dividend for 2026?

Not under SPCD Circular 06 while paid-up capital (Tk994.1 crore) is below Tk2,000 crore [8 p.1] [2 p.13].

Which results does this report use?

Solo annual figures 2016-2025, the unaudited H1 2026 statements, and Q3 2026 figures as announced on DSE; the Q3 statements are not yet in our corpus.

Sources

1. Trust Bank PLC Annual Report 2025, incl. audited financial statements and auditor's report (year to 31-Dec-2025) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
2. Trust Bank PLC un-audited financial statements, half-year to 30-Jun-2026 · link · accessed 2026-11-01
3. Trust Bank Limited Annual Report 2023 (with 2022 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
4. Trust Bank Limited audited financial statements 2021 (with 2020 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
5. Trust Bank Limited Annual Report 2020, five-year financial performance (2016-2020) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
6. Trust Bank Limited Annual Report 2019 (with 2018 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
7. Trust Bank Limited Annual Report 2017 (with 2016 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
8. Bangladesh Bank SPCD Circular No. 06, 23-May-2026, dividend declaration policy for banks (Bangla) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
9. National Credit and Commerce Bank PLC Annual Report 2025 (peer) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
10. Dhaka Bank PLC Annual Report 2025 (peer) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
11. DSE company news archive for TRUSTBANK, 1-Nov-2024 to 31-Oct-2026 (old.dsebd.org, criteria=3) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
12. The Business Standard, 'BSEC clears stock dividends for MTB, Southeast Bank, Trust Bank' (22-May-2026) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
13. The Daily Star, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
14. The Business Standard, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years before LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-11-01
15. AnalystBro price data (TradingView feed): DSE:TRUSTBANK weekly bars to the week of 25-Oct-2026, dividend-adjusted · link · accessed 2026-11-01
16. AnalystBro model for this report (workbook tabs below) · link · accessed 2026-11-01