AKM Zamir Uddin

Like all countries in the world, Bangladesh too is facing volatility in the foreign exchange market. This was initially caused by the demand recovery and supply chain disruption as battered economies began recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

Lenders and clients in Bangladesh are set to get the opportunity to settle transactions instantly as the central bank has moved to expand the facility of real-time gross settlement (RTGS) to non-bank financial institutions and the foreign exchange operations of banks.

Banks are installing cash recycling machines at a faster pace as part of their efforts to provide deposit and cash withdrawal services to clients under the same platform.

Twenty-five controversial e-commerce platforms in Bangladesh were deluged with orders worth a staggering Tk 6,050 crore in just four months last year under Ponzi-like schemes that lured unsuspecting customers on the back of hefty discounts.

Banks in Bangladesh are on the lookout for alternative ways to continue banking with Russian lenders after their transactions with seven major financial institutions came under restriction from SWIFT from yesterday following the western sanction.

Ten banks in Bangladesh collectively faced a capital shortfall of Tk 34,639 crore in December, which highlighted their fragile health caused by years of irregularities.

Strengthening Bangladesh Bank’s independence and autonomy is key to enabling it to strictly enforce the current prudential regulations in the banking sector, said International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Bangladesh’s current account deficit hit an all-time high of $10 billion in just the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year due to the escalation of trade deficit and dwindling remittances.

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed chartered accounting firms to immediately inform it about any major financial anomalies they unearth while carrying out audits into non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).

Global payments messaging network SWIFT has asked Bangladesh’s banks to suspend transactions with seven Russian lenders since they are facing sanctions from the United States and the European Union over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Default loans in the banking sector surged 16.38 per cent year-on-year to Tk 103,274 crore in 2021, rendering the relaxed loan classification policy unveiled by the Bangladesh Bank largely ineffective.

With oil prices hitting above $100 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, local businesses yesterday feared that the war would have a ripple effect on their domestic and international operations as both countries are major suppliers of agricultural commodities.

The government has taken an initiative to roll out bancassurance for the first time in the country with a view to bringing ordinary citizens under insurance coverage through banks.

A group of investors linked with mobile financial service operator Nagad Ltd have turned desperate to obtain a multipurpose licence that does not exist in Bangladesh.

The presence of vibrant corporate governance and adoption of technology-driven means have helped Pubali Bank go from strength to strength in widening its banking operations.

Seven non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) are now finding it difficult to recover Tk 2,050 crore they had lent to their subsidiaries and associates in breach of rules.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday ordered non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) not to disburse loans using cheques of current accounts they have to maintain with the central bank.

The transition from manual banking to its digital means is certainly not a new phenomenon for Bangladesh’s banking sector. But the advent of the coronavirus pandemic has had clients from all walks of life honing in on internet banking to cut the chances of contracting the deadly flu.

With Bashundhara Group seeking to borrow from state banks to establish a gold refining plant at Tk 5,790 crore, Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked five public sector banks to include more private lenders in the syndicated finance scheme to mitigate credit risks.

Twenty-five banks are suffering from a collective default loan of Tk 974.4 crore after several non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) failed to pay back funds despite maturity, in another sign of feeble state in the financial industry.