The Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rouf Talukdar, announced on Sunday that the central bank has lifted the 9 percent interest rate limit on loans.
This adjustment to the interest rate is said to be market-based, as mentioned during a press conference held to release the Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the first half of the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Under the new monetary policy, starting from the beginning of the upcoming fiscal year, banks will have the flexibility to set loan interest rates based on market conditions. The overall adjustment of this interest rate has already been aligned with the market.
The announcement was made during a press conference attended by the Deputy Governors, the Chief Economist, the Director of the Research Department of Bangladesh Bank, and other relevant officials.
In the face of various economic challenges, such as the global currency fluctuation triggered by conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war, the country’s vulnerability to inflation, the dollar crisis, concerns over food security, and volatile liquidity conditions, the central bank has declared its commitment to maintaining a steady growth trajectory during the first six months of the upcoming fiscal year.
Previously, this monetary policy adjustment had been announced twice a year. However, former Governor Fazle Kabir broke that tradition, initiating a once-a-year announcement. Nevertheless, it has been decided to return to the twice-yearly announcement schedule for the upcoming fiscal year 2022-2023.
