The news that Bangladesh-linked funds in Swiss banks swelled further last year sparked debate and speculation in the country. Though there is no clear evidence that the money is stashed away in Bangladesh, several media outlets labelled it an illicit transfer from the country, and some blamed the Yunus-led interim government. Posts on social media, especially on Facebook, claimed that the interim government allowed capital flight, as reflected in the surge in Swiss bank deposits.
The latest annual banking statistics, released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in the third week of this month, showed that total deposits, linked with Bangladesh, in Swiss banks stood at CHF (Swiss Franc) 834.16 million last year. The amount is approximately Tk 126.79 billion, whereas in 2024 the corresponding amount was CHF 589.54 million, or Tk 89.61 billion. Thus, the 41 per cent jump in Bangladesh-linked deposits attracted attention for obvious reasons especially as deposits linked to India and Pakistan declined.
There are, however, some problems regarding the figures. The said deposits in Swiss banks include trade finance, investments, and funds held by Bangladeshi individuals and entities. Of the total deposits, classified as 'liabilities' in the balance sheet, 98 per cent were 'amounts due to banks', meaning money routed through other banking and financial institutions in 2025. In other words, this money is not illegally transferred. The remaining amount was customer deposits, funds held in accounts of individual and institutional clients. There is no clear indication that Bangladeshi individuals illegally transferred money from the country though it is well known that Swiss bank deposits are often associated with stashed wealth, black money, or illegally transferred assets from various countries. The secrecy of Swiss banks, rightly or wrongly, reinforces the view that any money held there is black money.
For many years, it has been widely believed that some wealthy Bangladeshis parked their ill-gotten financial assets in Swiss banks to avoid taxes. However, no statistics were available for a long time. In 2013, a vernacular daily in Bangladesh first revealed the amount of Bangladesh-linked money in Swiss banks. The next year, a few more newspapers published detailed reports using SNB statistics. It became a topic of debate in the national parliament. Later, Bangladesh Bank prepared an analytical note on Swiss bank deposits, mentioning that individual clients accounted for less than 10 per cent of such deposits, while the largest deposits were made by other banks. It also claimed that banks and financial institutions cannot deposit funds that are shady or undisclosed, so the actual amount of black money should be much lower than media reports suggest. It stated that both assets and liabilities at Swiss banks were mainly generated by foreign trade transactions. Nevertheless, the central bank's argument did not receive the attention it deserved in the media.
Nevertheless, a few media outlets, following the central bank's explanation and a better understanding of Swiss bank deposits, began using the term 'Bangladesh-linked money' instead of 'Bangladeshi money' in Swiss banks. They try to reduce sensationalism and provide a more accurate picture. Other media and many social media ignore this and continue to present Bangladesh-linked funds in Swiss banks as capital flight.
Another source for checking Bangladesh-linked funds in Swiss banks is the Locational Banking Statistics (LBS), released quarterly by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of the banking office. For example, banks in a country report their lending (claims) and borrowing (liabilities) as reflected in LBS regardless of their parent banks' nationality. It also shows data by the borrower's location. Banks in the BIS reporting area report cross-border lending to and from the same country. Currently, 50 countries report international banking statistics to the BIS, providing a comprehensive picture of cross-border lending and borrowing. Reporting banks submit data to official authorities, usually central banks, which aggregate and submit country-level data to the BIS for global aggregation.
Bangladesh has yet to join the reporting. As a result, cross-border transactions of international banks located in Bangladesh are not reflected in LBS. Nevertheless, cross-border claims of banks outside LBS reporting countries are estimated based on liabilities reported by LBS-reporting banks to banking offices in non-reporting countries. That is why deposits or borrowings by non-reporting countries, such as Bangladesh, are also reflected in LBS.
LBS provide data on banks' cross-border positions for residents of different countries, based on balance sheet data. There are two parts of the balance sheet: 'claims' and 'liabilities', and both parts are divided into 'all sectors' and 'of which banks'. Again, these are also divided into 'all instruments' and `of which loans and deposits'. Usually, loans are classified as banks' claims or assets, and deposits are liabilities.
Now, at the end of the last quarter of 2025, the outstanding amount of Bangladesh-linked money in Swiss banks, in terms of loans and deposits under non-bank liabilities, stood at only US$10 million or Tk 1.24 billion, as per LBS. The amount is quite close to Bangladesh-linked 'amounts due to in respect of customer deposits' worth CHF 11.24 million (or Tk 1.70 billion), as mentioned in SNB statistics. Again, the total deposit of CHF 822.72 million (or Tk 127 billion), as per SNB statistics, is also closer to the amount of loans and deposits across all sectors, which stood at US$1.04 billion at the end of December last year.
In other words, there are some clues in the LBS that help provide a clear picture of Bangladesh-linked funds in Swiss banks. It is now the responsibility of the finance ministry and Bangladesh Bank to thoroughly investigate the matter.
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