BRAC Bank makes Forbes’ list of world’s top 500 banks

Bangladesh’s BRAC Bank has secured a place among the world’s top-performing banks. For the first time, US business magazine Forbes has published its “World’s Best Banks 2026” ranking, featuring 500 banks from 89 countries. BRAC Bank is the only Bangladeshi bank included on the list.

Among the 500 banks, BRAC Bank ranked 73rd in the lower-middle-sized bank category. The bank also confirmed its inclusion in the Forbes global ranking on Tuesday night.

According to Forbes, previous national and global banking rankings were largely based on customer surveys, whereas the new ranking was compiled using objective data on banks’ financial strength and performance. Data from leading financial information provider S&P Capital IQ, documented research and information submitted by the banks themselves were taken into consideration.

To qualify for the ranking, banks had to be legally authorised to accept deposits. Retail or corporate lending also had to be a core part of their business, and they were required to publish financial statements in accordance with national accounting standards.

Banks were also required to have their latest complete and audited fiscal-year financial statements, along with at least three consecutive years of financial data. In addition, they had to have assets worth at least $3 billion.

Forbes evaluated the banks on four major criteria. Profitability accounted for 30 percent of the assessment, growth and earnings quality for 20 percent, capital and funding strength for 25 percent, and asset quality and efficiency for the remaining 25 percent.

For profitability, the assessment considered indicators such as return on average assets, the ratio of income to operating expenses and net interest margin. Growth and earnings quality were assessed based on three-year revenue growth, earnings stability and growth in customer deposits.

Capital and funding strength was evaluated using indicators such as capital ratios and the loan-to-deposit ratio. Asset quality and efficiency were assessed based on loan quality, risk management and the resilience of balance sheets.

Before conducting the assessment, Forbes divided the banks into six categories based on total assets. Banks with more than $500 billion in assets were classified as global banks; those with $100 billion to $500 billion as large banks; $50 billion to $100 billion as upper-middle-sized banks; $20 billion to $50 billion as medium-sized banks; and $10 billion to $20 billion as lower-middle-sized banks. Banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion were classified as small banks.

Founded in 1999, BRAC Bank is currently headed by Tareq Refat Ullah Khan as managing director and chief executive officer. According to Forbes, the bank currently has 7,483 employees.