Bank Asia's Profit Jumps 34 Percent as City Bank Posts a Steadier 20 Percent Gain in Bangladesh's Nine Month Earnings Season

Two of Dhaka's mid sized lenders posted their nine month results this week, and the gap between them says as much about what is driving bank profits in 2026 as either number alone. Bank Asia's net profit jumped 34 percent, more than City Bank's already solid 20 percent rise, and the reason comes down to what each bank leaned on to get there.

• Bank Asia's January to September net profit rose 34 percent year on year to Tk472 crore, with earnings per share up 37 percent to Tk3.24.
• City Bank's consolidated profit after tax rose 20 percent to Tk867.38 crore, with EPS climbing to Tk4.96 from Tk4.13.
• Bank Asia's growth leaned on a 19 percent jump in customer deposits, from Tk44,615 crore to Tk53,308 crore, plus a markedly improved bad loan ratio.
• City Bank's results came with no stated breakdown of drivers, but its profit base is already roughly double Bank Asia's, so its slower percentage growth still added more raw taka.

Metric (Jan-Sep 2026)	Bank Asia	City Bank
Net profit	Tk472 crore	Tk867.38 crore
Year-on-year growth	+34%	+20%
EPS	Tk3.24 (from Tk2.37)	Tk4.96 (from Tk4.13)
EPS growth	+37%	+20%

What pushed Bank Asia's profit up faster

Bank Asia's nine month net profit reached Tk472 crore, a 34 percent rise from a year earlier, with the July to September quarter alone contributing roughly Tk208 crore. The bank's own disclosure points to higher operating cash flow driven largely by strong customer deposit growth, deposits climbed 19 percent over the year to Tk53,308 crore, alongside a significant improvement in its non performing loan ratio. For a bank its size, that combination, more deposits to lend out plus fewer bad loans dragging on the books, is close to the ideal setup for profit growth, and it shows in an EPS that rose even faster than net profit, climbing 37 percent to Tk3.24 from Tk2.37 a year earlier.

City Bank's bigger base, slower climb

City Bank's consolidated profit after tax rose 20 percent to Tk867.38 crore for the same nine months, up from Tk722.19 crore a year earlier, with EPS rising to Tk4.96 from Tk4.13. The bank disclosed these figures at a digital earnings webcast, noting that it has drawn attention from domestic and international investors through its market presence and growth, but it did not break down what specifically drove the increase the way Bank Asia did. What is clear from the numbers themselves is scale: City Bank's profit base is already nearly double Bank Asia's, so a 20 percent rise on that larger base still added more absolute taka in new profit than Bank Asia's faster percentage growth did.

City Bank's results noted only that the bank "had attracted attention from domestic and international investors in recent years," a line that speaks to market perception more than to the specific accounting drivers behind this quarter's number.

Two paths to the same nine month earnings season

Bank Asia's result is the more instructive one for understanding where Bangladeshi banking is heading in 2026: deposit growth and improving asset quality, rather than one off treasury gains, are what separate a merely good quarter from a standout one. City Bank's steadier 20 percent rise suggests a bank compounding growth from an already larger, more established base rather than catching a sudden tailwind. Neither trajectory is a warning sign on its own, but investors comparing the two would do well to watch whether Bank Asia's deposit growth and NPL improvement continue into the next quarter, since a 34 percent jump driven by two specific factors is harder to repeat than City Bank's more incremental climb.

What it means for you

If you hold deposits or are choosing between these two banks, Bank Asia's sharply improved non performing loan ratio and deposit growth this year are reasonable signals of underlying balance sheet health, while City Bank's steadier trajectory on a larger base suggests a more established, lower volatility profile. If you are a shareholder, EPS growth matters as much as headline profit growth, and Bank Asia's EPS rising faster than its net profit, 37 percent versus 34 percent, points to effective capital management rather than just a bigger profit pool being spread the same way. If you are comparing where to park fixed deposits amid Bangladesh's shifting rate environment, the FDR rate comparison tool can help you weigh offers from banks with very different recent earnings trajectories like these two.