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The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of non-performing loans on bank lending behavior before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this research we have chosen fifteen private commercial banks in Bangladesh and data were taken from the year 2012 to the year 2021. Credit growth as a component of bank lending behavior was selected as the dependent variable and independent variables are non-performing loans to total loans, provision for loan losses to total loans, gross domestic product (GDP) rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate, total loans to total customer deposit, total equity to total asset, tier 1 ratio, growth of customer deposits, the dummy variables are used for incorporating the effect of covid-19. The paper suggests that NPL to total loan, provision for loan losses to total loan, total equity to total asset, and dummy variables (effect of covid-19 on NPL) are found statistically significant and inversely related to credit growth. Another three variables namely total loan to total deposit, deposit growth, and inflation variables are statistically significant and positively related to credit growth. All of the significant variables are consistent with general economic theory except the case for total equity to the total asset. To reduce non-performing loans, the banks may concentrate on improving corporate governance, maintaining strong loan review, thoroughly reviewing the KYC form, must ensure safety principles before approving a loan, collecting information from the CIB, accepting adequate collateral, examining the five C’s, name lending and connected party lending should be strictly prohibited which are quite related with behavioral and judgmental issues, would be a matter of further research.

The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of non-performing loans on bank lending behavior before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this research we have chosen fifteen private commercial banks in Bangladesh and data were taken from the year 2012 to the year 2021. Credit growth as a component of bank lending behavior was selected as the dependent variable and independent variables are non-performing loans to total loans, provision for loan losses to total loans, gross domestic product (GDP) rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate, total loans to total customer deposit, total equity to total asset, tier 1 ratio, growth of customer deposits, the dummy variables are used for incorporating the effect of covid-19. The paper suggests that NPL to total loan, provision for loan losses to total loan, total equity to total asset, and dummy variables (effect of covid-19 on NPL) are found statistically significant and inversely related to credit growth. Another three variables namely total loan to total deposit, deposit growth, and inflation variables are statistically significant and positively related to credit growth. All of the significant variables are consistent with general economic theory except the case for total equity to the total asset. To reduce non-performing loans, the banks may concentrate on improving corporate governance, maintaining strong loan review, thoroughly reviewing the KYC form, must ensure safety principles before approving a loan, collecting information from the CIB, accepting adequate collateral, examining the five C’s, name lending and connected party lending should be strictly prohibited which are quite related with behavioral and judgmental issues, would be a matter of further research.