AKM Zamir Uddin

It hit $30.92b on April 30, down from $44.01b on same day a year ago

Private sector credit growth in Bangladesh slipped to a 12-month low of 12.03 per cent in March, a development that may hurt GDP growth and job creation. 

The Bangladesh Bank has decided to implement a market-based interest rate from July, moving away from the 9 per cent interest rate cap on loans, an initiative that may help the central bank uses its policy rates effectively in its fight against higher inflation.   

The central bank has kept injecting a hefty volume of US dollars into the market to help banks clear import bills, eroding the Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves. 

The central bank has set a goal so that at least 75 per cent of retail transactions are settled through digital technologies by 2027, a move that may give Bangladesh’s digital transformation a massive fillip and turn the cash-based economy into cashless. 

The deficit in Bangladesh’s financial account widened substantially in the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year, in an indication that the current stress in the foreign exchange regime will continue in the coming months.

Many banks in Bangladesh struggled to ensure expected profit in the last couple of years owing to the business slowdown, but The City Bank Ltd managed remarkable returns on the back of corporate governance and diversified products. 

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday said the ongoing global uncertainties may have an adverse impact on the country’s growth momentum and the inflationary situation. 

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest lender in the United States, has not reportedly faced any scam or lack of corporate governance. Still, it could not avoid the collapse. 

The government has continued borrowing from Bangladesh Bank as commercial banks have been unable to come up with much-needed funds owing to a liquidity crunch. 

Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves have slipped to a six-year low of $31.15 billion after the central bank cleared import bills to the tune of $1.05 billion with a number of Asian countries, official figures showed.   

Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange reserves invested in US dollars declined 34 per cent year-on-year to $23.63 billion in February as the country is heavily dependent on the American greenback to settle payments for global trade.

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.