AKM Zamir Uddin

Senior Staff Reporter covering the economy and banking sector in Bangladesh for 14 years

BB begins forex reporting as per IMF manual

Bangladesh Bank yesterday began publishing foreign currency reserves as per the International Monetary Fund’s BPM6 manual, in a move that will ensure that the country’s dollar stockpile is reported accurately.

A new era dawns in trade with India

Bangladesh, India to begin bilateral trade in rupee from July 11

Higher NPL burden for banking sector

The banking sector is burdened by a high non-performing loan (NPL) and will need to continue measures to beef up supervision and accelerate loan recovery, according to the Bangladesh Bank.

Forex reserve rises past $31b

The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose past $31 billion yesterday after three multilateral lenders provided $925 million to Bangladesh.

Extension of bank directors’ tenure: A huge blow to banking sector

Allowing directors to stay on for 12 years will deal a huge blow to the financial health of banks, which are already facing several crises, including a lack of corporate governance in recent years, say experts.

Tight monetary policy, but is it enough?

On the surface, the monetary policy appears to be tuned to the need of the hour: bring down inflation and conserve reserves. But it comes caving down on careful reading.

Can new monetary policy crush inflation?

The Bangladesh Bank may today raise its key interest rates to tame inflationary pressure but the attempt might go in vain since the monetary authority may not withdraw the interest rate cap on loans in a true sense.

11 banks facing a capital shortfall of Tk 33,575cr

Eleven banks in Bangladesh faced a collective capital shortfall of Tk 33,575 crore in March, up 9.3 per cent from a quarter ago, in a reflection of their worsening financial health caused by persisting irregularities and lack of governance, central bank data showed.

June 8, 2023

Private sector’s foreign loan repayment to drop 42% in 2023

The Bangladesh Bank has projected that loan repayments against mid- and long-term foreign credits secured by the private sector might fall by 42.6 per cent in 2023, but the development might not bring about major relief for an economy reeling under the forex crisis.

June 6, 2023

Islamic banks’ loan surges 9 times their deposits in a year

Investments made by full-fledged Islamic banks in Bangladesh surged nearly nine times their deposits in a span of a year, raising questions as private sector credit growth has slowed in the entire banking sector, official figures showed.

June 5, 2023

Extended contractionary monetary policy might be needed: BB

The stubbornly high inflation has raised concerns that inflation expectations would become unanchored, meaning inflation will get much worse, which may necessitate an extended period of contractionary monetary policy, said Bangladesh Bank.

June 4, 2023

Digital bank to bring positive change

The government’s move to set up a digital bank and develop a machine learning and artificial intelligence-based credit rating system will bring a positive change in the banking sector, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB).

June 2, 2023

Higher borrowing may fan inflation

The government will depend heavily on borrowing from Bangladesh Bank to manage its budget deficit in the next fiscal year amid the tax authority’s continuous failure to generate adequate revenues, a reliance that may stoke inflationary pressures and worsen the current economic volatility.

June 1, 2023