AKM Zamir Uddin

In a rare move, the central bank has taken a raft of measures to put National Bank Ltd back on track in the wake of massive irregularities at the first-generation private lender.

Mobile financial services have gained immense popularity in Bangladesh, particularly among lower-income groups, but the charge to withdraw funds has remained almost unchanged since the inception of the digital platform in 2011.

It was 1994 when Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Bangladesh rolled out automated teller machine and debit cards in tandem, which are considered to be the first example of technology integration in the country’s banking sector.

Remittance inflow surpassed the $20-billion mark in the first 10 months of this fiscal year riding on the relentless efforts of migrant workers to send their hard-earned money home through banking channels.

The central bank yesterday formed a committee to examine its latest ICT infrastructure’s debacle that had halted the inter-bank cheque transactions and electronic fund transfers (EFT) more than for a week.

The country’s apex trade body plans to set up a commercial bank and an insurance company to serve better cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs), which struggle to secure loans despite being the backbone of the economy.

A good number of banks are going towards branchless banking in recent times by way of rolling out different digital products as a part of their efforts to reach out to more people both in rural and urban areas.

The consumption behaviour of Bangladesh’s growing middle class has made credit cards popular in recent years with a number of banks offering a wide range of discounts and cashback facilities on purchases.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday cut the interest rate on farm loans as part of its efforts to boost the agriculture sector amidst the ongoing economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bangladesh faces challenges in sustaining the effective response it unveiled in the initial phase of the pandemic last year as it grapples with a devastating second wave of the deadly pathogen, the International Monetary Fund has said.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday restored the interbank cheque clearing system in a major relief for users but a backlog of cheques and the non-operational electronic fund transfer (EFT) platform are still causing sufferings to clients.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked banks to draw up country risk management guidelines focusing foreign nations, all aimed at absorbing unexpected economic shocks stemming from abroad.

Bank clients are going through serious troubles as the country’s two major digital means for moving funds, inter-bank cheque transactions and electronic fund transfers (EFT), have been inoperable since April 13.

Inter-bank electronic cheque transaction and fund transfer activities through Bangladesh Bank have been suspended since April 13 due to the disconnection of an optical fibre cable between two data centres of the central bank.

Despite the recent spike in Covid-19 infections, South Asia excluding India is recovering, led by Bangladesh, due to higher-than-expected exports and remittances, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday extended the deadline for disbursing a Tk 20,000 crore stimulus package for cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSME) by another three months to June.

People can open bank accounts from anywhere as an increasing number of lenders have made digital options available, helping customers avail financial services without visiting branches during the coronavirus pandemic.

Key contributors to the economy such as small and medium enterprises, farmers and lower-income professionals had gone through their worst-ever crisis because of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bangladesh Bank has asked National Bank not to disburse any loan without its prior approval.

Small businesses, which are considered the lifeline of the economy, had hoped that the government would take care of them to help them stay afloat when it announced a countrywide lockdown and a gigantic stimulus package to protect the economy and the people from the coronavirus disease in March last year.