No economy can realize sustained industrial modernization on the foundation of a compromised financial system. For far too long, the culture of chronic loan rescheduling and opaque single-borrower exposure limits has hollowed out balance sheets across both public and private commercial banks.

The recent measures initiated by Bangladesh Bank—enforcing strict International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS-9), restructuring distressed boards, and initiating forensic audits—represent overdue and welcome steps in the right direction.

"Regulatory autonomy must be insulated from partisan lobbying. When financial institutions lend against political influence rather than rigorous cash-flow viability, the ultimate guarantor is always the ordinary depositor," the editorial board notes.

A thriving nation requires an honest banking architecture. The road to rehabilitation will require legal resolve and political courage, but the alternative—systemic stagnation—is one the republic cannot afford.