AKM Zamir Uddin

In the end, it was a war that began some 5,800 kilometres away a year ago that laid bare the longstanding weaknesses of the Bangladesh economy.

Weak banks in Bangladesh with small holdings of government securities, which are used to mobilise funds either from the central bank or peers, may become more vulnerable in the days to come, Moody’s Investors Service warned yesterday.  

Russia’s war in Ukraine might be taking place 5,800 kilometres away from Bangladesh and the country is not involved militarily in the dragging conflict in any way, but its economy and people have been paying heavy prices.

Eight banks in Bangladesh faced a collective provisioning shortfall of Tk 19,048 crore in 2022, creating a risk for their depositors. 

Default loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector jumped 17 per cent year-on-year to Tk 120,656 crore last year owing to a lack of corporate governance and the ongoing business slowdown.  

Habitual defaulters' reluctance to repay the funds fuelled the amount to reach Tk 120,656 crore

Bangladesh’s banking sector has long been going through a difficult time as a majority of banks are plagued by challenges stemming from a lack of corporate governance. But Bank Asia Ltd stands out thanks to its unwavering focus on following rules strictly under the leadership of a strong board of directors led by A Rouf Chowdhury. 

The government has kept borrowing from the Bangladesh Bank as commercial banks can’t come up with much-needed funds owing to the liquidity crunch. 

It will be very tough for bankers to pass the exam smoothly if the existing curriculum is retained.

The Bangladesh Bank has injected $330 million into the country’s foreign exchange market since February 1 when the International Monetary Fund disbursed $476.27 million to Bangladesh as the first installment of a $4.7 billion loan. 

Bangladesh Bank will introduce another tool to provide liquidity support to cash-strapped Shariah-based banks in order to safeguard their ailing financial health.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed $476.27 million to Bangladesh as the first instalments of $4.7 billion loan it approved early this week.

The recovery of default loans is still weak in Bangladesh despite offering relaxed repayment policies for three consecutive years to 2022 as delinquent borrowers are not paying back funds on time, hitting banks’ income and cash flow. 

The Bangladesh Bank is yet to take any visible measure in line with a commerce ministry directive aimed at asking banks to earmark a portion of their foreign currency holdings to open letters of credit to import essentials ahead of Ramadan. 

The Bangladesh Bank will commence a campaign tomorrow to popularise an interoperable QR code across the capital city in a move to bring millions of small businesses such as street vendors and lower-income groups under the digital transaction system.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday unveiled a wishy-washy monetary policy for the next six months that will prove to be ineffective in tackling the headwinds passing through the economy.

By retaining the interest rate cap on lending and fixed exchange rate, the upcoming monetary policy for the second half of this fiscal year will not play any role in containing inflation, economists said.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday granted Sri Lanka’s request to be given six more months to repay a $200 million loan due to the prolonging of its economic crisis. 

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday decided in principle to allow Nagad Finance PLC, a proposed non-bank financial institution (NBFI), to run mobile financial services. 

Bangladesh Bank today granted Sri Lanka six more months to repay the $200 million loan after the Island nation requested to extend the repayment period due to its prolonged economic crisis.