BB profit jumps to Tk 15,100c amid higher lending

Business Report :

The Bangladesh Bank’s net profit for FY24 financial year rose to Tk15,100 crore after operational expenses from higher gains in lending and dollar sales.

According to the central bank’s financial statement, Tk15,100 crore from net income was deposited into the government treasury.

This compares with a net profit of Tk10,748 crore in the previous financial year, with Tk10,652 crore deposited into the treasury.
Gross profits for FY24 reached Tk40,000 crore.
On Wednesday, the Bangladesh Bank board, presided over by Governor Ahsan H Mansur, approved its financial statement for FY24.

The central bank’s largest income source was from short-term loans given to various banks against repo and special repo.

During the last financial year, the bank provided Tk32,21,000 crore in loans to commercial banks, surpassing the total loans given in the previous seven years.

The Bangladesh Bank reported that in FY24, the net loan from the banking system to the government was Tk94,282 crore.

Of this, Tk97,927 crore was from commercial banks, while loan from the Bangladesh Bank decreased by Tk6,457 crore.

During former governor Abdur Rouf Talukder’s tenure, there was secretive money printing, resulting in nearly Tk41,000 crore in loans to the government over a 62 days period.

However, the monthly reports showed that a net loan of Tk82,609 crore was given to the government from banks in FY24.

Direct lending by the Bangladesh Bank tends to increase inflation, which is already above 11%.
Economists have criticized the central bank for providing loans in this manner.

The central bank had promised not to supply any more loans to the government during the last financial year.
Due to severe foreign currency shortages, the Bangladesh Bank sold $12.79 billion to various banks in the last financial year, compared to $13.58 billion in the previous year.

Due to a significant increase in the dollar’s value against the Taka, there was substantial income from the foreign currency sector.

However, the sale of dollars has drastically reduced the foreign exchange reserves, which now stand at $20.48 billion.
Since the new governor took office, dollar sales from reserves have ceased and import demands are being met through the interbank market.

The meeting also discussed the appointment of the Bangladesh Bank deputy governors, overall economic conditions and agricultural loan distribution for the last financial year.