One of Bangladesh's older private banks — its profit and dividends have both grown strongly and its credit rating is the highest possible grade, but it operates in a crowded industry with little to set it apart.
City Bank is a steady, dividend-paying bank that has been listed since 1987 and has grown its profit strongly in recent years. It suits patient investors who want regular income and can accept the ups and downs of the banking sector. The value approach here leans on its profit, its asset value and its dividend — but whether today's price is reasonable is answered live in the box beside this write-up.
Value today
Around fair valueToday
৳31.9
Rough estimate
৳30.5
Based on its own past price levels, what similar companies trade at, the value of what it owns and the dividend it pays. · low confidence
- Its own usual price vs profit৳35.1
- Priced like similar companies (profit)৳48.6
- Its own usual price vs asset value৳28.5
- Priced like similar companies (assets)৳22.4
- Based on the dividend it pays৳25.0
A rough, educational estimate from the figures we have — not a price target or advice.
Data as of 2026-07-16
What does this company do?
City Bank is one of Bangladesh's older private banks, listed since 1987, and today one of the country's larger banks by size.
City Bank PLC is a private commercial bank. It first listed its shares on the stock market in 1987, which makes it one of the older banks trading on the Dhaka exchange. Like any bank, its job is to take in deposits from savers and lend that money out to people and businesses, earning the gap between the two.
It has grown into a large institution. By the end of 2025 the bank held about 84,720 crore taka of total assets — the money and loans on its books. It has 174.9 crore shares in the market, and behind those shares sits paid-up capital of about 1,749 crore taka plus built-up reserves of about 4,278 crore taka. The face value of each share is 10 taka.
It is one of many banks — around three dozen — whose shares trade on the exchange, so it is a familiar name but not a monopoly. Its business spans everyday banking, loans and card services.
How does it make money?
Like all banks, it earns mainly from the gap between the interest it charges on loans and the interest it pays on deposits.
A bank's core money-machine is simple: it collects deposits and pays a small interest on them, then lends that money at a higher rate. The gap between the two is its main income. City Bank also earns fees from services and from its card and treasury operations.
The scale of that engine has been growing. The bank's operating profit — the profit from its core business — rose from about 1,208 crore taka in 2021 to about 2,727 crore taka in 2025. Its total assets grew from about 42,491 crore taka in 2021 to about 84,720 crore taka in 2025, roughly doubling in four years.
Because it is a bank, its fortunes ride on interest rates, on how many good borrowers it can find, and on how well it collects what it lends. When the economy is healthy and loans are repaid, banks like this do well; when borrowers struggle, profits can be squeezed.
Is it actually making money?
Yes — profit has grown strongly, roughly tripling over five years, with only mild bumps along the way.
City Bank is clearly profitable and the trend has been upward. Net profit went from about 436 crore taka in 2020 to about 1,324 crore taka in 2025 — an increase of about 203% over those five years. Profit per share climbed from 4.29 taka to 8.71 taka in the same period, up about 103%. (Profit per share grows more slowly than total profit because the bank keeps issuing new shares as bonus dividends.)
The path was not perfectly straight. Profit dipped a little in 2022 (about 478 crore taka, down from 549 crore taka the year before) before resuming its climb, with big jumps in 2024 (about 1,014 crore taka) and 2025. Early in 2026 the bank reported January–March profit of 1.58 taka per share, up from 0.61 taka a year earlier, suggesting the growth carried on.
The bank also turns its profit into real cash. Operating cash flow — the actual cash the business generated — was about 3,482 crore taka in 2025, comfortably more than its reported profit, which is a healthy sign.
Is it financially safe?
The balance sheet looks solid — borrowings are modest against its own capital, cash generation is strong, and its credit rating is the highest grade.
For a bank, judging "debt" is different from an ordinary company, because taking deposits and borrowing is its business. Still, on the fact pack's measure, its borrowings have come down relative to its own capital: the debt-against-capital figure fell from 1.71 in 2021 to around 0.49–0.61 in the last three years. Shareholders' own capital grew from about 3,274 crore taka in 2021 to about 6,195 crore taka in 2025.
Cash generation has strengthened a lot — operating cash flow rose from about 460 crore taka in 2021 (dipping to about 268 crore taka in 2023) to about 1,378 crore taka in 2024 and about 3,482 crore taka in 2025. The asset value behind each share also rose steadily, from about 29 taka in 2020 to about 40.67 taka at the end of 2025.
Independent confirmation came in June 2026, when the rating agency CRAB gave City Bank its top long-term grade of "AAA" with a stable outlook, based on the 2025 accounts. One caution: the auditor added an "emphasis of matter" note to the 2025 report — a paragraph drawing attention to a particular issue — so a careful reader should look at what it says.
How do we judge if it's fairly priced?
We weigh the price against several yardsticks — its profit, its own past pricing, what similar banks fetch, its asset value and its dividend — never just one.
To judge whether the share is reasonably priced, we don't rely on a single number. We line the current price up against several yardsticks: how much yearly profit the bank makes for each share, the asset value sitting behind each share, the dividend it pays, and how the market has usually priced this share in its own past and priced similar banks.
The durable inputs are these: in 2025 the bank earned 8.71 taka of profit for each share, and each share had about 40.67 taka of asset value behind it. Because banks in Bangladesh often trade below their asset value, and because City Bank's profit per share has been rising, these anchors matter more than any single day's price.
We deliberately keep the live judgement — whether today's price is a bargain, fair or expensive — out of this written report, because that changes every day. The "value today" box shown beside this report does that live calculation for you using the current price.
Value today
Around fair valueToday
৳31.9
Rough estimate
৳30.5
Based on its own past price levels, what similar companies trade at, the value of what it owns and the dividend it pays. · low confidence
- Its own usual price vs profit৳35.1
- Priced like similar companies (profit)৳48.6
- Its own usual price vs asset value৳28.5
- Priced like similar companies (assets)৳22.4
- Based on the dividend it pays৳25.0
A rough, educational estimate from the figures we have — not a price target or advice.
Does it reward shareholders?
A consistent payer — it has handed out both cash and bonus shares every year for at least six years, with 2025's payout the most generous.
City Bank has a steady dividend habit. In every year from 2020 to 2025 it paid a cash dividend and also gave bonus (stock) shares. For 2025 it declared 15% cash and 15% bonus — that is 1.5 taka of cash for each 10-taka share, plus 15 bonus shares for every 100 shares held.
Over the six years the cash portion ranged from 10% to 17.5% of face value (1.0 to 1.75 taka per share), and there were always bonus shares on top. The cash-per-share was 1.75 taka in 2020, then 1.25, 1.0, 1.5, 1.25 and 1.5 taka in 2025 — steady rather than always rising, but never skipped.
Is the payout safe? The bank earned 8.71 taka per share in 2025 and paid out 1.5 taka in cash, so the cash dividend used only a small slice of profit — the rest is kept in the business and handed out as bonus shares. That makes the cash dividend look comfortably affordable.
What makes it special?
Its strength is size and a long track record, not a special edge — banking is a crowded business and several rivals grow and earn just as well.
Honestly, a bank like this has only a limited special advantage. Banking is a crowded industry — around three dozen banks trade on the exchange, and they all offer broadly similar deposits, loans and cards. Customers can switch easily, and the interest a bank can charge is heavily shaped by the market and the regulator. So no bank, City Bank included, can charge a big premium simply for its name.
What City Bank does have is scale and a long history. It has been listed since 1987, holds about 84,720 crore taka of assets, and earned about 1,324 crore taka of profit in 2025. Its profit grew about 203% over five years — a strong pace. It also earns a high return on the money shareholders have put in.
But its peers are no pushovers. Among the comparable banks in the fact pack, several — such as Prime Bank, Uttara Bank, BRAC Bank and Eastern Bank — earn a similar or higher return on shareholders' capital, and in some cases have grown their recent profit faster. That underlines the point: City Bank is a strong operator in a competitive pack, not a runaway leader.
Why it could do well
Growing profits, reliable dividends, a solid balance sheet, a top credit rating and committed owners are real positives.
- Strong, growing profits: net profit roughly tripled from about 436 crore taka (2020) to about 1,324 crore taka (2025), up about 203%.
- Reliable dividends: it paid both cash and bonus shares every year from 2020 to 2025, declaring 15% cash plus 15% bonus for 2025.
- Solid financial footing: shareholders' capital nearly doubled to about 6,195 crore taka, borrowings are modest against capital, and operating cash flow reached about 3,482 crore taka in 2025.
- Top credit rating: the agency CRAB rated it "AAA" (highest long-term grade) with a stable outlook in June 2026.
- Committed owners: the sponsors and directors hold about 30.4% of the shares, so the people running it have plenty of their own money at stake.
What could go wrong
No special edge, an auditor's caution note, rising borrowings from a new bond, and the usual banking-sector risks.
- No special edge: banking is crowded and City Bank's products are similar to many rivals, several of which grow and earn just as well.
- Auditor's caution: the 2025 audit report carries an "emphasis of matter" note — worth reading to understand what the auditor flagged.
- Rising borrowings and a new bond: it is raising 1,200 crore taka through a subordinated (Tier-II) bond, adding to its obligations even as it funds growth.
- Sector-wide risks: bank profits swing with interest rates, loan repayment and the wider economy; a downturn or bad loans could hit earnings.
- Dividend is part paper: a big chunk of the yearly reward comes as bonus shares rather than cash, which increases the share count and thins out profit per share over time.
So, is it for you?
A steady, dividend-paying big bank for patient income-seekers — provided you accept that it competes hard and offers no unique edge.
City Bank suits an investor who wants a large, established bank with a habit of paying dividends and a record of growing profit. Over five years its profit roughly tripled, its asset value per share rose steadily, and it has never skipped a dividend — the kind of profile that appeals to patient, income-minded savers.
The main caveat is that this is a bank in a crowded field with no special edge, and the 2025 accounts carry an auditor's emphasis-of-matter note plus a plan to raise fresh bond money. Its fortunes will rise and fall with interest rates, loan quality and the economy.
Whether today's price is a good entry point is a separate question that the live "value today" box beside this report answers using the current price — this write-up is only about the company's durable strengths and weaknesses.
This is educational information, not investment advice. Always do your own research or consult a licensed adviser before investing.