Md Mehedi Hasan

Artificial intelligence is helping banks and financial institutions understand customers, manage risks and make faster decisions

The minimum Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) -- the fee merchants pay on each Bangla QR transaction -- is discouraging adoption of the interoperable payment platform, industry insiders say, even after Bangladesh Bank made it mandatory from July 1.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 9.5 percent after keeping it unchanged for nearly two years, marking its first monetary easing in six years.

Commercial banks have asked the Bangladesh Bank to exempt small and medium enterprise (SME) loans from its new 4 percent cap on interest rate spreads, arguing that these loans cost more to manage than other types of lending.

Commercial banks have proposed introducing extra and some new charges for 14 services, including fees on frequent cash withdrawals, reactivating dormant accounts and higher account maintenance charges.

Customers question higher withdrawal charges as businesses fear rising costs

As local borrowing costs hover high, some of the country’s largest conglomerates are turning to foreign lenders for financing, and Bangladesh Bank (BB) is moving on multiple fronts to make that path easier.

Banks are now trading the US dollar between Tk 122.70 and Tk 123.75

The US dollar has climbed to Tk 123 in the inter-bank market as stronger demand for foreign currency coincides with slower inflows of remittances and export earnings

Mobile financial services changed how Bangladesh sends money and makes payments, but market competition has failed to keep pace

Bangladesh Bank has granted President Mohammed Shahabuddin a special exemption from withdrawal restrictions imposed on depositors of five troubled banks, approving a request to withdraw Tk 20 lakh from his account at Global Islami Bank.

BRAC Bank PLC, founded in 2001 under the leadership of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed to serve the “missing middle” -- small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that had outgrown microfinance but lacked access to formal banking -- has grown into one of Bangladesh’s leading financial institutions.

BB banks on legal reforms, tighter supervision and global standards

Economists question whether monetary tightening can succeed while the central bank continues to inject funds into banks

Interest-free facility will be in force till Dec 31

City Group, one of Bangladesh’s leading conglomerates, is considering the divestment of selected non-core business units to generate funds and streamline operations amid a mountainous financial burden.

The Bangladesh Bank is likely to keep the policy rate unchanged at 10 percent for the second half of this year as the country grapples with persistently high inflation, according to officials familiar with the matter.

When a managing director or chief executive officer of a bank applies to resign, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is supposed to call them for a hearing before taking a final decision, as per the existing regulations.

The country’s banking sector recorded a net loss of Tk 1.36 lakh crore in 2025, as a surge in bad loans wiped out income across much of the industry, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.

It is the weakest in South Asia as hidden bad loans surfaced after 2024 political changeover