Md Mehedi Hasan

Amid criticisms over the delay in squeezing money supply, the Bangladesh Bank yesterday made borrowing costlier as it raised the policy rate by 75 basis points to 7.25 percent to step up its fight against inflation..This is the sharpest pace of rate increase in at least a decade, said a ce

Private sector credit growth in Bangladesh has continued to dip in recent months, with banks and borrowers adopting a go-slow strategy amidst the stress on the economy and growing apprehensions of a political crisis centring the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Bangladesh’s banking sector hit a new record in June as withdrawal of a relaxed central bank policy, slowdown in business sales and deliberate non-payments pushed up the volume of bad loans to Tk 1,56,039 crore, central bank data showed.

The bad loans rose by Tk 24,419 crore in the last three months to June

Beneficiaries of wage earner remitters receive a 2.50 percent cash incentive on top of the market-determined exchange rate for any amount of remittance inflow.

Russia has included Bangladesh on its list of friendly and neutral countries, a development that would allow its local banks and brokers to settle trade transactions in the rouble.

Commercial banks witnessed a drop in foreign currencies last month from that in the preceding month mainly due to a sharp fall year-on-year in the inflow of remittance and a relatively small growth in export earnings.

The Bangladesh Bank is going to take a raft of policy measures to tackle inflationary pressure, volatility in the foreign exchange market and growing non-performing loans (NPLs) and give a much-needed boost to the forex reserve.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh (SCB) and Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC have received approval from Bangladesh Bank to conduct bilateral trade with India using the rupee. 

The Bangladesh Bank has asked 10 banks’ managing directors why their treasury heads should not be penalised for their involvement in dollar rate manipulation this year.

The foreign exchange crisis in Bangladesh has dealt a blow to credit card users as the sharp appreciation of the US dollar against the taka has narrowed their scope for foreign purchases through cards.

Distressed Islami Bank has approved a Tk 700 crore loan to a concern of AnonTex Group, one of the five large borrowers of Janata Bank that has been enjoying undue facilities despite making negligible repayment in 13 years.

Due to its geographical susceptibility, Bangladesh faces significant vulnerability to climate change. Consequently, the importance of sustainable finance, encompassing a suite of financial regulations, standards, and products aimed at environmental objectives, has grown significantly in recent years.

A uniform exchange rate has remained a far cry in Bangladesh despite banks moving to embrace a single rate of the US dollar amid a deepening shortage of the American greenback.

The Federal Reserve of the US and the European Central Bank kept hiking policy rates in their fight against record inflation throughout last year and this year whereas the central bank of Bangladesh chose not to use the full force of the monetary policy.

Troubled state-run lender Janata Bank continues to be overly lenient towards AnonTex Group, one of its five large borrowers, despite negligible loan recovery in 13 years from the garment manufacturer.

The private sector credit growth in Bangladesh nosedived to single digit in July as both banks and borrowers face multiple challenges amid lingering economic uncertainty at home and abroad and the growing political crisis centring next year’s national elections.

The jewellery industry has apparently remained largely dependent on unauthorised channels for sourcing gold although there is no direct government bar on importing the precious metal. 

Short-term private sector foreign debt has continued to fall since January of this year, with new disbursements being outweighed by repayments each month this year except May.

Remittance saw its steepest decline since the depths of the pandemic in August as expatriate Bangladeshis eschew the official channels to send money home thanks to the wide difference in the official and kerb market exchange rates.