Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves are gradually increasing and stabilising, says Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur. “The reserves, which had been depleting by USD 1.3 billion per month under the previous government, are now seeing a more positive trend,” Governor Mansur said in an interview with UNB on Sunday. “A significant amount has already been paid for fertilisers, electricity, and obligations to Adani-Chevron,” he said. Less than a month in, new governor returns stability to forex market In the past two months alone, the central bank has successfully reduced deferred payments from USD 2.5 billion to USD 700 million by paying off USD 1.8 billion in outstanding liabilities for energy and other essential services. As of October 8, Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 19.82 billion as per BPM6 calculations, while the gross reserves reached USD 24.97 billion. He said that the central bank's primary goal is to eliminate the remaining debt within the next two months, aiming for a debt-free status by November-December. “Once achieved, liquidity in the market is expected to improve.” By settling these dues, the financial pressure on the economy is anticipated to ease, allowing economic activities to accelerate. The central bank is preparing to secure an additional USD 10 billion in loans from various international institutions to bolster the economy. Bangladesh forex reserves soar to $19.53bn boosted by remittance The Governor, however, expressed concern over the country’s growing foreign debt, which has now reached USD 103 billion, with repayment pressures steadily increasing. Despite this, he urged patience, suggesting that it will take at least a year to navigate through the current debt challenges successfully.

Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, newly appointed governor of Bangladesh Bank, has said his priority will be to check the high inflation and restore stability in the financial sector.  Expressing satisfaction over his new responsibility Dr. Mansur told UNB on Tuesday night that he will work with all stakeholders in the financial sector to bring back stability and put it on a solid foundation. On Tuesday night the interim government's law ministry hurriedly waved the age limit of 67 years for anyone to be appointed as governor of the central bank. Economist Mansur is now 72 years old. The last time the age limit provision got amended from 65 years to 67 years was in July 2020 to accommodate the reappointment of then-governor Fazle Rabbi.  Read more: Money launderers won’t be allowed to sleep in peace: New Bangladesh Bank Governor He believed that despite high inflation - it hit 11.66 in July in a 13-year high- the central bank under the previous administration did not give full attention to curb it.  Controlling inflation remains a top priority for any central bank.  However, money supply, exchange rate stability, and inflation control all depend on the decision of the governor. Besides, the standard of living, international trade, investment, and employment depend a lot on the decisions of the central bank of any country, he said. Dr. Mansur started his career as a lecturer, at the Department of Economics, Dhaka University in 1976. He left for Canada for higher studies in economics the same year. As a graduate student and research assistant, he was also offering regular economics courses at the undergraduate level at the University of Western Ontario, Canada (1978-81).  Dr. Mansur joined the International Monetary Fund under its Economist Program in 1981 and thereafter completed his PhD in Economics (on general equilibrium analysis) from the University of Western Ontario in 1982. During his long career at the IMF, he worked in Middle Eastern, Asian, African, and Central American countries. He worked in important functional departments (Fiscal Affairs and Policy Review and Development departments) and area departments (Middle East and Central Asia and Asian departments) of the IMF. Read more: Inflation hits 13-year high of 11.7% in July: BBS He also served as the IMF Senior Resident Representative to Pakistan from 1998-01 and as the Fiscal Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Government of Bangladesh (1989-91).

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has again decided to formulate monetary policy twice a year as per the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The central bank in a meeting with economists on Monday took the decision. As part of this, the monetary policy will start formulation for the second half of the current fiscal year in January next year, Bangladesh Bank’s chief economist Habibur Rahman, told UNB on Tuesday. “We have discussed various aspects of macroeconomics including money supply, reserve currency, and interest rates with all stakeholders including economists of the country. The current challenges of the economy were also discussed,” he added. Read more: General inflation in Bangladesh slightly down to 8.85% in Nov  As per the suggestion of the economists the central bank decided to formulate the monetary policy twice a year, he said. Monetary policy was announced twice a year since 2006. In 2019, former governor Fazle Kabir announced monetary policy formulation once a year. Accordingly, he announced the monetary policy for the fiscal year 2019-20 on July 31 of that year. The central bank announced monetary policy only once in the next financial year 2020-21 and 2021-22. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended announcing monetary policy four times a year as a condition of a getting $4.5 billion loan. Officials said the central bank announces monetary policy based on the data published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). And the statistics bureau publishes these data twice a year. As a result, Bangladesh Bank will announce the monetary policy twice a year. Read more: Business leaders oppose withdrawal of interest cap for sake of investment Bangladesh Bank will announce the monetary policy for the second half of the financial year in January.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder on Saturday said it is not possible to lift the interest rate cap on bank lending (9 percent) in the current situation. He said this while speaking at a program at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) held in Mirpur in the capital. Abdur Rouf Talukder said the entire world is now facing a challenge and Bangladesh is no different. In this situation, it is not possible to raise the cap, as many economists have advised to tackle inflation, in line with most central banks around the world that are fighting inflation.  During a highly anticipated speech at the annual Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming on Friday, Jerome Powell, the chair of the US Federal Reserve, America's central bank, said they must continue to raise interest rates to stop inflation from becoming "a permanent aspect of the US economy." Read: The first Bangladeshi ship carrying jhut leaves for India "Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth," Powell said at the meeting. Policymakers in Bangladesh however, seem to be banking on the wealth effects of growth to beat out the depreciating effect of inflation.  “If it happens (the cap is raised), the private sector will suffer. The overall supply chain will be disrupted. At the moment, there is no decision on lifting the lending cap,” the governor said. “After taking charge as the governor of the central bank, I spoke to the bank chairmen, managing directors, and chief executives. I have wanted to know the problems and possibilities of the country's banking sector from them,” he added. The BB governor hints that there is a dollar crisis and inflation problem, but both would last no longer than 2-3 months.

Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said that banks must comply with rules in debt management and other activities assuring that the central bank will ensure good governance in the banking sector. The governor was addressing the media at Jahangir Alam Conference Hall at Bangladesh Bank Bhaban on Thursday, his second meeting with journalists after assuming office on July 12. The central bank, meanwhile, identified the weak banks and it plans to talk to them one-to-one basis. These banks will get a three-year business plan for improvement under direct observation of Bangladesh Bank, he said. Failure in one bank would affect other banks and financial institutions. So, it is better to improve banks by good governance, he pointed out. The central bank has already assured banks’ managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of support regarding good governance, he said. Deputy Governors Ahmed Jamal, Kazi Sayedur Rahman, A.K.M Sajedur Rahman Khan, Abu Farah Md. Nasser, BFIU chief Masud Biswas, executive director (ED) and chief economist Habibur Rahman, ED and spokesperson Md Serajul Islam, and senior officials were present at the event. Rouf said the central bank has taken essential policy measures for a stable exchange rate, increasing the supply of dollars, curtailing unnecessary luxury imports and increasing vigil in the exchange market. But, it will take time to get results, he said. “We should be patient.” Ruling out raising the lending interest rate, the governor said that the BB prefers demand cut, imposing higher taxes to curb the inflation rate in the domestic economy due to external effects. Read: FY23: Bangladesh Bank raises agro credit target to Tk30,911 crore He also hinted at strengthening the bond market along with enhancing the equity supply in the stock markets. Reply to a query Rouf said banks have to ensure compliance in each sector and serve every citizen, influential or ordinary. Regarding the current account deficit, the governor said, “Our economy is heavily import-oriented. Fuel oil, gas, edible oil, food and even over 60 per cent raw materials for export-oriented industries are imported. This created an imbalance or deficit.”   The BB’s chief economist Habibur Rahman gave a presentation on different policy measures that have been taken by the central bank recently to stablise currency and money flow. The BB sold USD $ 7.4 billion in the FY2021-22 to keep foreign exchange supply smooth. The BB bought $7.7 billion from banks in FY 21 due to keeping a stable forex exchange rate.  The licenses of 10 exchange houses have been cancelled and notices were sent to another 45 houses to explain their transaction report and alleged violation of  money exchange rules. The BB has increased the interest rate on non-resident foreign currency deposits (NFCD) and benchmark (Eurocurrency deposit rate) by an additional 2.25 and 3.25 per cent to attract more foreign currency deposits.

Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir on Sunday said banks have to raise attention to digitalization along with investing more to protect financial operations from hackers. He said with the development of online banking technology, threats are also being increased globally, banks have to monitor and vigilance round the clock on the security issues. Also read: Inflation, unstable forex rate major challenges: BB governor Kabir was addressing  as the chief guest the opening of two-day cyber security summit titled 'Building Cyber Resilience for Banks' to make bankers aware about cyber security and prepare them for the future. “As cybercrime grows in this age of digital banking, we must prepare ourselves to take risks. We believe that strong collaborative responses and knowledge sharing are essential to address these risks,” he added. Also read:BB to set uniform exchange rate to stabilize volatile dollar He hoped that the participants will return to their respective workplaces with sufficient knowledge about cyber security and prepare themselves for future challenges. Selim RF Hussain, Chairman of Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) presided over it. It was also addressed by Debdulal Roy, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director, Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan, ABB Vice-Chairman and Sonali Bank MD, Mohammed Haider Ali Miah, ABB Vice-Chairman and EXIM Bank MD, Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, ABB Secretary-General and Standard Bank MD, among others, spoke in the function.

The government has appointed Abdur Rouf Talukder, senior secretary of finance division at the Ministry of Finance, as the new governor of Bangladesh Bank for a 4-year term. He will succeed the central bank governor Fazle Kabir whose term expires on July 3. The Financial Institutions Division of the Finance Ministry on Saturday issued a circular in this regard notifying the appointment in public interest. Also read: Inflation, unstable forex rate major challenges: BB governor According to the article 10(3) and 10 (5) of Bangladesh Bank Order 1972 (president's order 172) the new governor will be appointed on condition of taking retirement from the public service and abandoning all work relationships with all other institutions and associations, it said. He has been appointed for the next four years from July 4 or the day of joining, said the notification. Talukder joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in February, 1988 (BCS 1985 batch). He worked more than 18 years in Finance Division before elevating to the position of Finance Secretary on 17 July 2018.  Also read:Fazle Kabir reappointed BB governor for next 2 years Apart from his long career in Finance Division, Talukder has served in the Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Food, and Ministry of Information.  He also worked at Bangladesh High Commission, Kuala Lumpur as First Secretary (Commercial).

Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Fazle Kabir on Saturday said banking sector is currently facing big challenges of inflation and unstable forex exchange rate in the post Covid-19 period. “A huge trade deficit has been created due to these reasons. To deal with this, not only Bangladesh Bank, but all the government and the private commercial banks have to work collectively,” he said. Fazle Kabir said this while addressing Al-Arafah Islami Bank Scholarship Awarding Ceremony at the chief guest at the Officers’ Club in the city. Also read: BB to set uniform exchange rate to stabilize volatile dollar ”We have imposed a number of restrictions on imports and if we refrain from importing luxury goods at this moment it will reduce the pressure on the forex reserves ,” he said. “In the case of LC Open, we have given some margins to comply with them. We are providing dollars directly from the central bank's reserves to ease the crisis. It will continue. Besides, we have been given opportunity to import necessary products including food, baby food, fertilizer, fuel and electricity, and other products. We are discouraging import of products that are not very necessary,” Kabir added. Also read: Dollar rate: BB governor to hold meeting with bank MDs Thursday Chairman of Al-Arafa Islami Bank Selim Rahman presided over the function. Managing Director and CEO of the bank Farman R. Chowdhury, members of the Board of Directors, senior officials, scholarship recipient students and parents were also present on the occasion. Under its Social Responsibility Programme, Al-Arafah Islami Bank provided scholarships to  200 meritorious students who have passed HSC and equivalent examinations in 2019.

The government has reappointed Fazle Kabir as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank for the next two years until July 3, 2022.