The central bank yesterday allowed banks to open foreign currency clearing accounts in yuan in keeping with the soaring trade with China.

Citibank NA Bangladesh has recently hosted a forum on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) underlining the bank's commitment to support Bangladesh, global clients and investors with the opportunities offered by the programme launched by China.

Banks should increase their number of branches to give a boost to financial inclusion, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.

The interest rate on savings instruments will remain unchanged for the time being, in a development that can be termed an about turn for Finance Minister AMA Muhith, who only a couple of days ago indicated it would be lowered.

The central bank is going to file a damage claim with a New York court by January next year to recover its reserve money stolen through one of the biggest cyber crimes in the world in February 2016.

MTB Unit Fund's trustee committee has declared a cash dividend of 13.25 percent per unit for fiscal 2017-18, says a press release.

Ahmed Saiful Islam has been appointed as the head of retail banking at HSBC in Bangladesh with effect from August 2.

City Bank yesterday launched a digital “Supply Chain Finance and Distributor Finance Facility” through which suppliers will get paid whenever invoices are approved while buyers will enjoy increased liquidity and improved working capital.

City Bank's consolidated earnings per share for January-June 2018 declined to Tk 1.51 against Tk 2.18 for the same period a year ago.

Around 40 percent of the bankers do not want to work in the internal audit departments due to the huge work pressure, a survey found.

Shares of banks on the Dhaka Stock Exchange rose strongly yesterday, putting a halt to their frequent fall this year.

Brac Bank's consolidated profit after tax rose 13 percent year-on-year to Tk 272.8 crore in the first half of 2018.

Mostafa Golam Quddus has recently been re-elected chairman of Rupali Insurance Company Ltd.

The rising default loans in the eight state banks, which accounts for 57.53 percent of the total classified loans in the banking sector, have become a threat to the sector's stability, according to the Bangladesh Bank's Financial Stability Report.

City Bank and bKash, the country's largest mobile financial services provider, yesterday joined hands to allow their customers to avail a number of services from each other's platforms, in what can be described as a first-of-its-kind partnership for the country's financial sector.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd in Bangladesh yesterday launched the eighth edition of the HSBC Export Excellence Awards to recognise the contribution of the country's exporters.

The Asian Development Bank is ready to lend $8.01 billion to Bangladesh over the next three years, almost the double the amount it had committed in the previous three years.

Bangladesh's money market has been volatile due to the deepening problems in the banking sector, analysts said yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank has continued its practice of injecting dollars into the market this fiscal year to cool down exchange rate volatility, with $62 million being pumped in just the first 17 days of the month.

Agent banking is becoming a major source of deposits for banks thanks to its reach to remote population who are being encouraged to park their funds with formal institutions, analysts said yesterday.