Md Mehedi Hasan

Bank Asia is going to hold a meeting of its board of directors next Sunday and is likely to disclose the mater in detail, a senior official of Bank Asia said.

Although banks in the country normally face a liquidity shortage due to cash withdrawals ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr each year, a majority of them have sufficient funds on hand this time around thanks to continuous liquidity support from Bangladesh Bank.

The central bank has already unveiled a framework to address vulnerabilities in the banking sector, rein in non-performing loans (NPLs) and punish wilful defaulters.

Under the currency swap agreements introduced last month, the banking regulator took $1.17 billion from commercial banks and injected around Tk 20,000 crore in the form of local currencies into the banking system, according to several central bankers.

After Padma Bank, ICB Islamic Bank appears to be the next in line to be absorbed by a stronger bank under the central bank’s roadmap to clean up the banking sector and bring in corporate governance.

Bangladesh’s external debt has crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time, indicating a challenging future amid foreign exchange shortage.

Deposits at non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) have slightly increased on an interest rate hike but the number of deposit accounts have dropped sharply, indicating a lack of trust.

The planned merger of Shariah-based Exim Bank and struggling Padma Bank is likely to take between 18 months to two-and-a-half years to complete, according to central bank officials.

Liquidity in the foreign exchange market is increasing due to a rise in the inflow of US dollars, riding on growing remittance, export earnings and currency swap deals.

Liquidity in the foreign exchange market is increasing due to a rise in the inflow of US dollars, riding on growing remittance, export earnings and currency swap deals

The news that Shariah-based Exim Bank is going to merge with troubled commercial lender Padma Bank has taken the financial sector of Bangladesh by surprise.

Struggling Padma Bank is set to be taken over by Shariah-based Exim Bank as part of the Bangladesh Bank plan to rein in the runaway defaulted loans to a reasonable level and bring good governance to the banking sector.

Padma Bank, which has been struggling with the burden of toxic loans for years, will merge with EXIM Bank. It will be the first bank merger in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Bank has unveiled the counter-trade policy, an arrangement that promotes direct exchanges of goods and services without cash, with a view to reducing pressure on dwindling foreign currency reserves.

Nine banks, including four state-run ones, have fragile financial health, says a recent report of the Bangladesh Bank.

Nine banks, including four state-run ones, were in the “red zone”, meaning their financial health was fragile,

Private sector credit growth slowed in January this year as the lending rate went up due to the central bank’s contractionary monetary policy, according to experts and analysts.

Bangladesh Bank is planning to initiate mergers and acquisitions among weak non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) if a similar initiative in the banking industry sees success.

The scope for banks to avail Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) repo facility is set to narrow as relevant auctions will be held weekly instead of daily from upcoming July.

Bangladesh's foreign currency reserves have gone past the $20-billion mark after nearly a month thanks to the currency swap initiated by the central bank.