DHAKA: Bangladesh Bank is planing to import cash dollar to meet the existing dollar crisis caused after abolition of India’s higher value bank note. The central bank has already urged the government to withdraw import duty on cash dollar import, said Subhankar Saha, executive director of Bangladesh Bank. With reference to the bankers meeting, Subhankar said the issue was discussed in the meeting held yesterday at the central bank headquarters. He said importing cash dollar will reduce the difference of exchange rate between bank and curb market.
Inter-bank exchange rates remained stable at Tk78.70 against which dollar is selling between Tk81 and Tk82 in the curb market. The abolition of India’s higher value bank notes leads to price hike in US dollar as well as its crisis in Bangladesh curb market as tourists opt for the bucks before visiting India, said a senior executive of private bank. In a move to curb the black money menace, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared abolition of currency notes of Rs500 and Rs1000 from November 9. The non-compliance issue on good borrower’s incentive policy was widely discussed in the bankers meeting. Bankers argued about the criteria of identifying a good borrower the central bank set.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir was convinced by the bankers that the latters will not be forced to give incentive to the borrowers if the central bank does not get any complaint from clients, said Mohammed Nurul Amin, managing director of Meghna Bank. He said banks will deal with their clients themselves, but if the central bank gets any complaint from the clients, only then action will be taken. Earlier in March last year, the central bank offered good borrowers 10% rebate on interest accrued against their loan accounts through issuing a circular. According to the incentive package, the borrowers whose loan accounts remained unclassified continuously for three years and complied with all terms and conditions of approval will be entitled as good borrowers. At the end of three years, the good borrowers will receive the 10% rebate every last year on their loan interest. The benefit will continue if the clients are identified as good borrowers at the end of every year. The policy will remain valid until further instruction.
The circular also advised the banks to take measures to award the good borrowers through annual programme. On July 28 last year, the central bank asked all scheduled banks to provide information about good borrowers including the number of good borrowers, amount of interest rebate and provision maintained against potential payable rebate. In response to Bangladesh Bank’s instruction, 53 banks have reported their status, except the three banks – Sonali Bank, Prime Bank and Dhaka Bank. Of the 56 banks, 36 have reported a zero number of good borrowers in the year 2015 to the Bangladesh Bank.
Some 16 banks kept their lump sum provision against potential payable interest rebate last year, but did not pay out that rebate amount to the good borrowers in current year except the four banks – Islami, MTBL, RAKUB and HSBC – that provided interest rebate to their good borrowers as of July 2016. The total provision maintained by 16 banks against potential payable rebate was Tk72.76 crore last year. Of the rebate amount, Islami bank provided interest rebate of around Tk11 crore, MTBL Tk1 crore and RAKUB around Tk2 lakh, according to the central bank data.
