Ahsan H Mansur stated that the country's Islamic banking sector would be completely restructured as most of the existing Islamic banks are currently in trouble.
With the central bank halting direct financing by printing new notes, the government also has no option but to turn to commercial banks to meet its fiscal needs.
Interest rates on government treasury bills rose again this month, reversing a brief downward trend and signalling a continued liquidity crunch in the banking sector.
Credit demand in the private sector of Bangladesh has virtually ground to a halt, hitting its lowest level since at least 2004, indicating a distressed business and investment situation.
Steady growth in remittance inflow has helped the interim government arrest the decline in foreign currency reserves, leading many to wonder why the remitters are sending more and more money back home.
The country’s foreign exchange market is stabilising thanks to a surge in US dollar (USD) inflows, driven by higher remittances, stronger export earnings and tighter oversight by the central bank.
Of the 35 NBFIs in the country, a dozen are currently struggling to repay depositors due to an acute liquidity crisis
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has drafted a Deposit Protection Ordinance, proposing a maximum payout of Tk 2 lakh per depositor if a bank undergoes liquidation. The limit will be reviewed every three years.
Defaulted loans at the country’s non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) reached a record 36 percent of all loans disbursed by them as of September 2024, a level that sector people described as a reflection of “massive irregularities and scams” seven to eight years ago.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home a record $26.9 billion, up 23 percent year-on-year, in a development that will bring a huge sigh of relief to policymakers as they endeavour to shore up strained dollar stockpile.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has extended a total of Tk 12,500 crore in emergency funds to three beleaguered banks to dress up their balance sheet ahead of the year’s end.
After seven months of implementing a crawling peg exchange rate system in spot purchases and sales of US dollars, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is now considering increasing the mid-rate to Tk 119 from Tk 117 per greenback, according to central bank officials.
In October, a video on social media showed the manager of Social Islami Bank’s Agargaon branch breaking down in tears after enduring harsh verbal abuse from frustrated customers seeking to withdraw cash.
Once a reputable state-run commercial lender, Agrani Bank saw its financial health deteriorate fast over the past five years, mainly due to massive lending to politically backed businesses, mismanagement by the board and fallouts of Covid-19.
Companies linked to the controversial S Alam Group took out 56 percent of the total disbursed loans of First Security Islami Bank (FSIB), one of six Shariah-based lenders controlled by the Chattogram-based business giant.
The Bangladesh Bank is waiting for the interim government to bring a Payment and Settlement System Act, 2024 into effect, as it intends to take legal action against mobile financial service (MFS) provider Nagad Ltd over alleged irregularities.
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
