The Bangladesh Bank (BB) yesterday asked banks to keep a maximum of Tk 1 as a spread between the buying and selling rates of the US dollar.

This directive was issued as some commercial lenders charged higher rates when selling the greenback, taking advantage of the local forex market volatility.

The BB said that unusual spreads between buying and selling foreign currency result in discriminatory currency arrangements and multiple currency practices.

It said that each bank must apply a uniform spot rate irrespective of the transaction size for all buying transactions on a business day.

"Similarly, a uniform spot rate shall also be maintained for all selling transactions on a business day," it added.

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Taka loses value vs dollar after 7 months

The BB's directive came a couple of days after it increased the mid-rate of the crawling peg to Tk 119 from Tk 117 per greenback, seven months after introducing the system to make the exchange rate more market-based and to bring stability to the forex market.

A crawling peg is a system of exchange rate adjustments in which a currency with a fixed exchange rate is allowed to fluctuate within a band of rates.

Yesterday, USD was traded at Tk 122, gaining 1.66 percent from Tk 120 a day earlier, according to the BB.

The BB said banks must display rates on digital screens or display boards visible to customers, as well as prominently on the top of their websites.

It also advised banks to comply and warned that non-compliance would result in punitive actions, including financial penalties.