Bangladesh, July 11 -- Bangladesh has emerged as the world's second-highest country in terms of loan default rates, according to a recent global financial analysis.

The country now ranks behind only Ukraine, with Romania placing third.

The alarming development highlights growing stress in the banking sector amid economic challenges, including high inflation, political transition effects, and slowing industrial growth.

Financial experts point to several contributing factors, including large-scale non-performing loans (NPLs) in state-owned and private commercial banks, delayed recovery of loans from major business groups, and liquidity pressure in the financial system.

According to banking sources, the total volume of defaulted loans i...