Only 21 banks in dollar crisis: BB
Staff Reporter :
Only 21 banks of the country are now in a dollar crisis and they are collecting dollars from other banks, claimed Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Mezbaul Haque.
“And 39 banks have enough dollars in their stocks. Taking the overall situation into consideration, the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA) and the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (BAB) have reduced dollar prices by Tk 0.5 to Tk 110,” he said.
He, however, did not disclose the names of the banks.
Mezbaul, also Spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank, made the comments while speaking at a press conference in the BB’s conference room on Thursday.
The traders, however, alleged that they are still failing to open letters of credit (LCs) due to the dollar crisis.
The spokesperson also said that the demand for dollars has eased due to reduced imports and the bill payment pressure will be negligible by September next year.
“Most of our banks have enough dollars to meet their demands. Some banks are in crisis and the clients of these banks are failing to open LCs as per their demands. Following this, these banks are forced to go to other banks to collect dollars,” he added.
Regarding the sale of dollars from reserves, Mezbaul said, “The government is taking dollars from the reserves for its needs. If necessary, it must be given in the interest of the country.
There is no chance to shut down the process.”
“Dollars are being spent in two major sectors–Payment for import prices and service charges. We have already been able to reduce demand for dollars in both sectors.
Already our dollar payout has halved. Monthly payments will drop to $49 million by September 2024,” he said
“We have already imposed restrictions on the import of several products.
On other hand, the rate of opening long-term loans has decreased. The businesses are opening ‘At Sight’ or instant LCs. So, I hope that the initiatives will help bring the existing inflation under control as well as the dollar crisis,” the BB spokesperson added.
On Wednesday, the BAFEDA President Md Afzal Karim said, “The country’s current account balance and financial account were in the red last December.
The current account balance is showing a surplus of $1 billion. And the trade deficit and financial account deficit are going down gradually. So the value of the Taka has been raised against the dollar.”
