The Bhutanese Leading the way.
BOB, BDBL, and T Bank report stronger earnings while BNB and RICBL record lower profits
Bhutan’s financial sector presented a starkly divided picture in 2025. While primary state-backed institutions and agile commercial lenders recorded surge growth across revenues, credit portfolios, and net profits, other major market players experienced significant profit compressions. These contractions persisted despite healthy underlying operating income, primarily driven by heightened non-performing loan (NPL) provisioning, regulatory asset adjustments, and rising impairment costs across the industry.
BOB: Upward trajectory continues across all fronts
The Bank of Bhutan (BOB) sustained its market leadership through 2025, expanding its balance sheet and recording consecutive multi-year gains across all primary performance benchmarks.
The bank’s total capital base widened to Nu 10.784 billion (bn) in 2025, completing a steady four-year climb from Nu 8.575 bn in 2022, Nu 9.461 bn in 2023, and Nu 9.741 bn in 2024.
This capital consolidation was mirrored by liquidity growth. Customer deposits registered a sharp expansion in 2025, climbing to Nu 137.612 bn. This surge follows earlier steady gains from Nu 96.881 bn in 2022 to Nu 99.883 bn in 2023, and Nu 105.870 bn in 2024.
Driven by expanded core operations, total revenue expanded to Nu 9.714 bn in 2025. By comparison, BOB reported revenues of Nu 5.740 bn in 2022, Nu 7.795 bn in 2023, and Nu 8.548 bn in 2024.
Bottom line profitability followed a similar upward curve. BOB’s net profit breached the two-billion mark to hit Nu 2.046 bn in 2025. The bank previously earned Nu 676.57 million (mn) in 2022, Nu 1.002 bn in 2023, and Nu 1.540 bn in 2024, confirming sustained year-on-year growth across the four-year evaluation period.
BDBL: Record earnings offset by rising provisions
Bhutan Development Bank Limited (BDBL) executed a major operational turnaround in 2025, generating its highest-ever interest income on the back of aggressive lending and structural liability management, though asset quality issues continue to weigh on net impairment.
Interest income rose 22 percent (an increase of Nu 522 mn) to reach Nu 2.86 bn in 2025, up from Nu 2.34 bn in 2024. Concurrently, interest expenses fell by 1 percent, sliding to Nu 1.813 bn from Nu 1.824 bn in 2024. This expanded net interest income to a record Nu 1.048 bn—more than doubling the Nu 515 mn generated in 2024. Consequently, BDBL’s Net Interest Margin (NIM) rallied to 2.4 percent in 2025 from a depressed 0.2 percent in 2024.
Management attributed the earnings growth to two core strategies. One is aggressive credit expansion as the total loan portfolio expanded by 33 percent, growing from Nu 21 bn in 2024 to Nu 28 bn in 2025.
Secon, cost-of-funds optimization was achieved as high-cost term deposits were systematically liquidated, interest rates were rationalized, and Current Account Savings Account (CASA) balances were improved. Total customer deposits grew 11 percent, moving from Nu 31 bn in 2024 to Nu 35 bn in 2025.
Other income rose sharply by Nu 236 mn, climbing from Nu 310 mn in 2024 to Nu 546 mn in 2025, driven by enhanced recoveries on written-off accounts via negotiated settlements.
However, non-performing loans continued to present significant operational headwinds. Consolidated NPLs grew from Nu 1.2 bn in 2024 to Nu 1.65 bn in 2025, forcing the bank to maintain a 65 percent loan-loss coverage ratio.
This required provisioning push caused total impairment charges to jump to Nu 642 mn in 2025, compared to just Nu 82 mn in 2024—a net increase of Nu 559 mn. BDBL’s consolidated NPL ratio closed at 5.8 percent (up from 5.6 percent in 2024), while its standalone ratio (excluding NCSIB) moved up to 4.9 percent from 4.1 percent.
BNB: Revenue growth dampened by tax and operational charges
Bhutan National Bank (BNB) demonstrated healthy top-line operational expansion in 2025, though increased underlying charges and tax obligations led to a contraction in final post-tax profitability.
Total operating income grew by Nu 566 mn, finishing at Nu 3.163 bn in 2025 against Nu 2.597 bn in 2024.
Despite higher top-line earnings, Profit Before Tax (PBT) contracted by Nu 350.6 mn, dropping to Nu 668.228 mn in 2025 from Nu 1.019 bn in 2024.
Tax provisions for the year were adjusted downward to Nu 279.919 mn compared to Nu 490.478 mn in 2024. Net profit for the year closed at Nu 388.309 mn, representing a decline of roughly Nu 140 mn from the Nu 528.306 mn earned in 2024.
Despite lower retained earnings for the period, BNB fortified its balance sheet by allocating Nu 323.5 mn to its general reserve, expanding it from Nu 2.521 bn in 2024 to Nu 2.845 bn in 2025.
RICBL: PBT drops amid prudential adjustments
Celebrating its Golden Jubilee marking 50 years of operations, the Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited (RICBL) faced notable earnings pressure in 2025, impacted by heightened credit-segment regulations and claims linked to natural disasters.
Reported statutory Profit Before Tax fell sharply to Nu 393.38 mn in 2025, down from Nu 1.144 bn in 2024 (which had previously dropped from Nu 1.548 bn in 2023).
Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), RICBL posted a net profit of Nu 584.23 mn for 2025, compared to Nu 1.287 bn in 2024 and Nu 1.189 bn in 2023.
Management noted that the divergence between statutory PBT and GAAP figures stems directly from technical accounting methodologies which are re-calculation of loan and advance impairments; mandatory NPL provisioning enforced under RMA Prudential Regulations; and fair-value mark-to-market adjustments on the Financial Asset Indexation Framework (FEIF).
The company confirmed that all statutory regulatory compliance evaluations remain benchmarked against its GAAP-compliant financial statements.
DPNBL: Steady portfolio growth marking 15 years
Completing 15 years of commercial operations in Bhutan, Druk PNB Bank Limited (DPNBL) delivered steady growth across its credit and deposit portfolios while executing strategic capital retention measures.
Total business grew by 5.96 percent, expanding from Nu 53.214 bn in 2024 to Nu 56.385 bn in 2025. The 2025 business aggregate comprised of Customer Deposits of Nu 32.697 bn and Advances and Credit of Nu 23.687 bn.
Net income generated during the fiscal year stood at Nu 988.25 mn against total net expenditure of Nu 834.30 mn. Evaluated under Bhutanese Accounting Standards (BAS), DPNBL recorded a net profit of Nu 153.95 mn.
To optimize accounting efficiency, the Board recommended that annual dividend distributions be recognized within the active financial year rather than carried forward. Following these structural allocations (including Nu 38.49 mn for the General Reserve, Nu 3.16 mn for the Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Reserve, Nu 168.00 mn for 2024 dividends, Nu 84.00 mn for 2025 dividends, and Nu 139.70 mn adjusted from retained earnings), DPNBL’s total capital funds rose to Nu 4.952 bn as of 31st December 2025, up from Nu 4.594 bn at the end of 2024.
T Bank: Surging performance driven by core operating gains
T Bank Limited delivered the sector’s strongest relative profit growth in 2025, anchored by sharp increases in operating revenues and expanded profit margins.
Under Bhutanese Accounting Standards (BAS), T Bank’s Profit Before Tax surged by 74 percent to hit Nu 359.85 mn in 2025, up from Nu 206.81 mn in 2024. Total operating income expanded significantly to Nu 749.67 mn from Nu 585.65 mn in the prior year.
Net profit reached Nu 270.29 mn for the year ended 31st December 2025, representing an 85.6 percent jump over 2024’s Nu 145.67 mn. The bank set aside Nu 91.00 mn for corporate income tax (compared to Nu 53.15 mn in 2024) and increased its transfer to the General Reserve to Nu 49.02 mn from Nu 36.64 mn. Reflecting this bottom-line growth, T Bank’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) improved to Nu 2.58 in 2025, up from Nu 1.91 in 2024.
