AKM Zamir Uddin

At least 10 industry bodies have applied to both the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank to get financial support from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package for the export-oriented industries.

Nagad, a mobile financial service provider of the Bangladesh Post Office and a private entity, has received an interim licence from the Bangladesh Bank, as part of its push towards digital money amid the pandemic.

Adversity brings out the best in man, William Shakespeare once said.

In the first 10 working days of every month, the Agrabad branch of state-run Sonali has to give financial services to at least 2,000 to 3,000 clients, some of whom are pensioners or beneficiaries of the government’s social safety net schemes.

There seems to be finally some light at the end of the tunnel for the agriculture sector as the central bank and agriculture ministry have finalised a Tk 5,000 crore rescue package for farmers, rice millers, producers of all agro-products and owners of dairy farms.

Banks have decided to call upon the central bank to take more policy measures to allow them to implement the lion’s share of the government’s Tk 72,500 crore bailout package efficiently amid business collapse, tight liquidity situation and higher defaulted loans.

Banks will face trouble in implementing the government’s Tk 72,500 crore bailout package due to their ongoing liquidity crunch that has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank has taken an initiative to form a large bailout package for farmers, who have seen a complete collapse in demand for their produce for the countrywide movement control order enforced by the government with a view to flattening the curve on coronavirus.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has asked banks in the eurozone to not pay any dividend in order to boost their capacity to absorb losses that will invariably take place for the global coronavirus pandemic that has brought the world down on its knees.

There is no question that the export-oriented sectors, particularly garment, have been dealt a cruel blow by the global coronavirus pandemic. Which is why, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 25 have rolled out a Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package for them.

Banks’ capacity to provide loans at 9 per cent interest has shrunk even before the government-fixed ceiling is implemented as both individuals and corporate institutions are withdrawing deposits to protect themselves from the ongoing economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country’s foreign exchange regime is cruising towards headwinds due to the dwindling exports and remittances thanks to the global economic slowdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank should form financial package immediately for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to tide them over during this period of economic upheaval brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, according to experts.

In moments of crisis, holding more physical cash gives some a sense of control over the situation, it is often said.

The central bank has started work on facilitating a soft landing to the economic slowdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks and other financial institutions are doing their part to flatten the curve on coronavirus in Bangladesh by instructing their employees to work from home.

A good number of banks in the US, Canada and many other countries around the world have temporarily shut their branches or scaled back their retail operations as part of their efforts to flatten the curve on coronavirus.

School banking is increasingly getting popular among students as the deposits in their accounts crossed Tk 1,600 crore in 2019.

Most of the banks in Bangladesh have implemented the Basel III guidelines within the deadline of 2019.

The central bank is set to create a €200 million fund to provide low-cost loans to environment-friendly industrial plants.