Bangladesh Bank plans to raise reserves to $35b by year-end: Governor
The central bank has a plan to raise foreign exchange reserves to $35 billion within this year, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said today.
Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves stood at $32.48 billion as of December 17 this year, but under the International Monetary Fund's BPM6 method, the figure was $27.81 billion, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank data.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The governor said steps taken by the central bank have helped stabilise the overall financial sector, adding that governance weaknesses remain a major concern in the banking sector.
The banking regulator has been able to keep the banking sector stable and maintain public confidence despite persistent structural challenges, he said at a seminar titled "Banking Sector Reform: Challenges and Way Forward," organised by the Economic Reporters Forum in Dhaka.
"Several banks are facing huge capital shortfalls and high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs)," he said, adding that Bangladesh currently has the highest NPL ratio in the world.
However, Mansur said he hopes the situation will begin to improve soon.
"Within December, NPLs are likely to come down," he said, adding that restoring sound governance in banks is a priority, though it will take time to deliver sustainable results.
The BB governor also addressed recent consolidation moves in the sector, saying depositors of the five merged banks would get their money back soon.
He expressed hope that the merged banks would be able to make profits within their first year of operation.
On the non-bank financial institution (NBFI) sector, Mansur said nine NBFIs would be liquidated under the regulator's resolution plan.
"Shareholders of those institutions will not receive anything, but depositors will get their funds back," he said.
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, and Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, also spoke at the event.
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