In an effort to stabilise the forex market, Bangladesh Bank has decided to allow the exchange rates of the taka to float against the US dollar for the first time in a decade.

In the wake of a foreign currency crisis in the country three recent steps of the government that drew wide appreciation are the travel restrictions for government officials (Finance Division, May 12), lifting of source declaration requirement for over Tk 5 lakh remittance (Bangladesh Bank, May 23) and imposition of additional duty on 68 various importable items (National Board of Revenue, May 24). While we fashionably go against the government on every possible issue on social media, these three rather attracted profuse praise with the first one, cessation of foreign tours, causing hysteria.

E-commerce purchases through cards bounced back in March as the total transaction value crossed Tk 900 crore for the first time since July last year, when a number of scams were unearthed in the sector.

Bangladesh Bank has asked banks to convert major export earnings of businesses into taka immediately as it looks to increase the supply of US dollars in the economy.

Tyre importers in Bangladesh have been hit hard by the rise in the exchange rate and the doubling of the cash businesses require to pay in advance to open letters of credit to bring in the item.

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday directed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) to preserve all documents, either physically or digitally, related to loans, leases or investments until the repayment is complete.

Bangladesh Bank today increased its policy rate by 25 basis points in a major development that is likely to make credit costly and curb inflation.

The Bangladesh Bank today asked banks to suggest uniform exchange rates of the taka against the US dollar in order to bring back the stability in the country’s foreign exchange market.

Bangladesh Bank has formed a Tk 2,000 crore refinance scheme to ensure sustainable development of the shipping industry, increase export earnings and employment and gradually reduce import dependence.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday said that private banks would be able to waive the interest of borrowers whose funds have been transferred to the lenders’ income segment, relaxing its previous stance in order to facilitate influential defaulters.

Bangladesh Bank today instructed banks to take up to 75 per cent of payments in advance from businesses during opening of letters of credit for import of luxury and non-essential goods.

Between August 2018 and September 2020, Dhaka-based Mamun Enterprise has drawn over Tk 6.2 crore in incentives against agro exports.

Any banker with 10 years of work experience can now be appointed or promoted as chief financial officer (CFO) at any bank or financial institution.

The central bank today requested law enforcement agencies to not create any roadblocks for bank employees while going to and from their office during the ongoing shutdown declared by the government.

The Supreme Court has quizzed an official of Bangladesh Bank on the discrepancy in the bank regulator’s findings over embezzlement at International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL), a non-bank financial institution.

The government is going to exceed its annual limit for bank borrowing within the first half of this fiscal year due to poor revenue collection, and this could give a credit crunch for the private sector to deal with.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday walked back on its stance of forcing international credit cardholders to take prior approval from banks for every cross-border transaction, as better sense prevailed amongst the decision makers of the regulatory body of the country’s financial system.

The High Court (HC) has ordered Bangladesh Bank to form a nine-member committee with experts of the banking sector to find out loopholes in lending and recovery of loans.

Beximco Ltd got its way, yet again. The central bank went out of its way to accept Beximco’s request for rescheduling demand loan of Tk 430.05 crore, and in so doing, created a moral hazard for the banking sector.

The Supreme Court stays till July 8 the High Court orders that halted Bangladesh Bank’s circular allowing defaulters to reschedule their loans with a repayment period of up to 10 years and get further loans.