Among the 27 listed banks, 10 declared higher dividends, 11 the same, and seven lower. Pubali Bank Managing Director Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury said the stock market was in a better position last year that positively impacted their profits. When the market did turn bullish, banks generated higher profits and had to keep a reduced amount in provisioning in the portfolio compared to that a year earlier, he said. "So, our profits were impacted positively in two ways," he said. The Bangladesh Bank also ordered banks not to classify loans in 2020. As a result, lenders did not require to set aside a higher amount of funds in provisioning.