Ten private commercial banks and two non-bank financial institutions have been rated as sustainable financial institutions by the Bangladesh Bank.

The central bank made the rating in the Bangladesh Bank’s Sustainability Rating-2024.

The top-rated banks were BRAC Bank, City Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Eastern Bank, Jamuna Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, NCC Bank, Prime Bank, Pubali Bank and Shahjalal Islami Bank.

Of them, BRAC Bank, City Bank, Eastern Bank, Jamuna Bank, Mutual Trust Bank and Prime Bank also featured in the 2023 rankings.

In contrast, Exim Bank, Trust Bank, United Commercial Bank and Uttara Bank, which were on the list in 2023, failed to get place on the 2024 list.

Among the financial institutions, IDLC Finance and IPDC Finance retained their place in the sustainability rankings for a second consecutive year.

The central bank evaluates banks and financial institutions based on five key indicators — the sustainable finance index, CSR activities, green project financing, the core banking sustainability index, and banking services coverage.

Core banking sustainability and banking services coverage jointly account for about 60 per cent of the total score. Banks with strong risk management, healthy capital adequacy and low non-performing loans receive higher scores under these metrics.

The core banking sustainability score considers net non-performing loan ratio, Tier-1 capital to risk-weighted assets, provision maintenance, CMSME loan share and large-loan portfolio exposure.

The services coverage component, weighted at about 10 per cent, evaluates reach through branch network, number of deposit and loan accounts, and agent banking outlets.

The Bangladesh Bank first introduced the sustainability rating system in 2020 to encourage financial institutions to integrate environmental, social, and governance considerations into their operations.