Md Mehedi Hasan

The inflow of remittance to Bangladesh increased 21 percent year-on-year to $1.93 billion in November as most banks are offering higher rates for the US dollar to boost foreign currency collection.

Bangladesh Bank is hunting for dollars to rebuild its depleting foreign exchange reserves ahead of the January 7 national election.

interest rates on all kinds of deposits have been rising since the withdrawal of the lending rate ceiling in June

rate will be 7.75 percent, which will be effective from today

Janata Bank has failed to meet any of its performance improvement targets set by the central bank in the first half of the year -- a worrying development given that the state bank accounts for the second-highest volume of deposits and loans among the 61 scheduled lenders in Bangladesh.

Bad loans in six private banks increased by about 55 percent in the first nine months of the year, raising further alarms about the health of the banking sector.

Some banks are seeing extraordinary growth in remittance inflows thanks to offering at least Tk 4 more than the permitted rate per dollar.

Overall, banking sector's non-performing loans fall slightly

Excess liquidity in the banking sector of Bangladesh continues to fall despite lower credit demand ahead of the national polls and higher interest on deposits offered by banks to lure savers.

The interest rate of treasury bills in Bangladesh has crossed a recent high of 10 percent, indicating that lending rates will rise further in the days ahead, according to bankers.

Although the banking sector in Bangladesh is facing multiple challenges, including an alarming amount of bad loans, Brac Bank has been able to strengthen its financial health by keeping its values at the core of every activity.

The country’s current account balance stood in positive territory in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to a sharp slowdown in imports.

The government's expenses on interest payments rose 22.14 percent year-on-year to Tk 92,538 crore in the last fiscal year due mainly to a higher cost of borrowing.

No bankers and directors will be able to hold any post in the Shariah supervisory committee of banks as the Bangladesh Bank changes rules to make lenders more compliant and curb irregularities. 

Premier Bank PLC is investing in building a robust digital infrastructure to make all financial services available at the fingertips of customers, said M Reazul Karim, managing director of the private commercial bank.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday issued letters of intent to Nagad Digital Bank and Kori Digital Bank, in a development that can substantially enhance people’s access to finance.

Bangladesh Bank is likely to give primary approval today for the formation of digital banks in the country.

Bangladesh is hopeful of receiving the second tranche of the IMF’s $4.7 billion loan programme in December as the authorities agreed to further monetary policy tightening, tighter fiscal policy and greater exchange rate flexibility.

A majority of banks in Bangladesh, including some Shariah-based ones, are facing difficulties to run their activities due to a liquidity crisis, according to industry people.

After banks, it is now the non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) sector that has logged in a record volume of defaulted loans, in yet another data point that informs of the alarming state of the country’s overall financial sector.