After a five-month pause, dollar rates have started to rise, prompting the central bank to question the managing directors of 13 banks about the fresh volatility of the greenback.
BB issued letters on Dec 19 and the deadline for explanation ends today
As much as 89.3 percent of the credit extended by First Security Islami Bank, when controlled by the major Awami League beneficiary S Alam Group, to AL-affiliated Sikder Group by violating banking rules and regulations has become defaulted.
Problem-ridden Padma Bank has applied to the Bangladesh Bank for Tk 1,300 crore in liquidity support to mitigate its crisis and strengthen its ability to repay depositors.
Defaulted loans at six private commercial banks nearly tripled in one year till September 2024, according to central bank data, which bankers term “alarming”.
State-run Janata Bank has been partly exempted from the Bank Companies Act-1991 so that it can lend money to Beximco Group, a loan defaulter.
Consumer financing has slowed as people are adopting a go-slow strategy for taking loans, considering the increasing trend of interest rates amid ongoing inflationary pressure.
Motijheel is losing its historic lustre as Dhaka’s commercial hub, with Gulshan, among the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the capital, stealing its thunder.
Bangladesh Bank has ordered Janata Bank to cancel the Tk 3,359 crore interest waiver facility the lender had allowed to AnonTex Group, after an audit found forgeries and scams involving the loans.
Bank Asia is likely to acquire the Bangladesh operations of Karachi-based Bank Alfalah, according to information disclosed to the Pakistan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Bank Asia is going to hold a meeting of its board of directors next Sunday and is likely to disclose the mater in detail, a senior official of Bank Asia said.
Although banks in the country normally face a liquidity shortage due to cash withdrawals ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr each year, a majority of them have sufficient funds on hand this time around thanks to continuous liquidity support from Bangladesh Bank.
The central bank has already unveiled a framework to address vulnerabilities in the banking sector, rein in non-performing loans (NPLs) and punish wilful defaulters.
Under the currency swap agreements introduced last month, the banking regulator took $1.17 billion from commercial banks and injected around Tk 20,000 crore in the form of local currencies into the banking system, according to several central bankers.
After Padma Bank, ICB Islamic Bank appears to be the next in line to be absorbed by a stronger bank under the central bank’s roadmap to clean up the banking sector and bring in corporate governance.
Bangladesh’s external debt has crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time, indicating a challenging future amid foreign exchange shortage.
Deposits at non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) have slightly increased on an interest rate hike but the number of deposit accounts have dropped sharply, indicating a lack of trust.
The planned merger of Shariah-based Exim Bank and struggling Padma Bank is likely to take between 18 months to two-and-a-half years to complete, according to central bank officials.
