The central bank governor projects cooling the red-hot inflation, which has hovered above 9 percent since March last year, to 7 percent by June next year.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has become the first among multilateral and bilateral lenders to respond to the interim government's call for budgetary support, approving $600 million aimed at easing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and accelerating economic recovery.
Bangladesh’s national budget for fiscal year 2024-25 is likely to be reduced by more than Tk 50,000 crore, with the entire cut expected to be made in funds meant for the annual development programme (ADP).
Bangladesh, mired in data fog, has “sleepwalked” into the middle-income trap according to the white paper on the state of the country’s economy.
Distressed assets in the banking sector have reached a whooping Tk 6,75,030 crore, an amount bigger than the cost of building 22 bridges across the Padma or 13.5 metro rail systems in Dhaka, according to a White Paper released yesterday.
Despite rising interest rates on deposits and various efforts by the central bank, Bangladesh’s banking sector continues to face a liquidity crisis that has hamstrung some lenders.
Moody’s has downgraded Bangladesh’s banking sector to “very weak” from “weak”, citing worsening client confidence, limited transparency and inadequate financial safeguards over the past year.
When most non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Bangladesh are in hot water with high ratios of non-performing loan (NPL), a handful have been successfully able to keep the rate low.
The amount of bad loans has been spiralling in Bangladesh owing to rampant politically-motivated lending and inadequate credit risk management, according to a World Bank report.
Total foreign debt servicing, including repayment of the principal amount as well as interest, rose to $3.35 billion in financial year 2023-24 from $2.67 billion in 2022-23.
Bangladesh is unlikely to fulfil the revenue collection target set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of its conditions for the fourth tranche of a $4.7 billion loan programme.
Rabiul Islam, a practising Muslim who works at a private organisation, refrained from conventional banking services for many years as both paying and receiving interest are against his religious principles.
The overall losses of state-owned enterprises in Bangladesh may rise by nearly five times in the current fiscal year compared to the previous year, according to a projection by the government.
A longstanding political issue has now evolved from a financial concern to a structural problem in Bangladesh, according to noted economist Prof Rehman Sobhan.
Dhaka Bank is increasingly embracing technologies to serve customers digitally and enhancing its lending to small clients as it redesigns its focus to stay relevant.
The timing of Citizens Bank’s launch on July 3, 2022, could not be worse: Bangladesh was reeling from the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, and people’s confidence in the banking industry eroded owing to loan scams and irregularities.
The International Monetary Fund has suggested an alternative to reducing agricultural subsidies -- raising fertiliser prices and providing cash or vouchers for certain farm inputs to support poor farmers.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested the central bank raise the policy rate by 50 basis points by December this year since its monetary tightening is yet to rein in inflation.
