Bank-Insurance
Top Bank Executives Ordered to Address Currency Exchange Scandal
The Bangladesh Bank has issued orders to the top executives of nine commercial banks, instructing them to transfer officials allegedly involved in foreign currency exchange irregularities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. In a Thursday meeting, Deputy Governor Kazi Sayedur Rahman cautioned CEOs against the recurrence of such incidents, urging heightened oversight and security measures at airport booths.
Bangladeshi expatriate workers and travelers typically convert foreign currencies to Taka at bank booths and money exchangers upon returning to Bangladesh. However, some officials were found to be involved in exchanging foreign currencies directly without issuing proper vouchers or with fake vouchers, a practice considered money laundering.
The implicated banks include state-run Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Probashi Kallyan, along with five private banks: Pubali, Jamuna, City, Mutual Trust, and Standard. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) verified the allegations following a formal complaint, conducting a raid and investigation at Shahjalal Airport on Monday.
ACC officials discovered that foreign currency arriving at Shahjalal Airport, meant to be deposited through the banking channel, was being manipulated by unscrupulous officials. Some were purchasing dollars and selling them in the open market without proper documentation, and in certain cases, currencies were being smuggled abroad.
In-bound passengers frequently exchange US dollars, euros, riyals, ringgits, pounds, and dinars at the airport, according to ACC officials. The central bank’s directive aims to curb malpractices and ensure the proper handling of foreign currency transactions at the airport.
The Bangladesh Bank has adjusted the dollar price to Tk117 from Tk110 by introducing the crawling peg exchange rate mechanism.
Under this new approach, the bank will buy and sell dollars with Tk117 as the mid rate.
This decision was reached during a meeting of the monetary policy committee on Wednesday, May 8th.
Additionally, the committee has opted to discontinue the SMART lending rate mechanism, allowing banks to set their lending rates based on dollar demand and supply, according to a circular issued after the meeting.
The crawling peg system permits a currency with a fixed exchange rate to fluctuate within a specified band of rates, combining features of both fixed and floating exchange rate regimes.
On May 5th, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder announced the adoption of a market-based interest rate and the implementation of a crawling peg system to stabilize the foreign exchange rate.
He stated that the central bank is collaborating with prominent economists and bankers to devise a contractionary monetary policy aimed at curbing inflation and restoring macroeconomic stability.
Earlier, on April 2nd, the World Bank stressed the importance of a crawling peg mechanism aligned with market-clearing exchange rates to narrow the gap between formal and informal exchange rates, as outlined in the latest Bangladesh Development Update report.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advocated for a market-based dollar rate. In January 2023, the IMF attached several conditions to a $4.7 billion loan facility over a three-and-a-half-year period. Bangladesh has received two installments of the loan by fulfilling nearly all conditions, except for the reserve requirement.
On Sunday (May 5), the Bangladesh Bank (BB) once again dissolved the board of directors of the National Bank.
In a letter addressed to the managing director of the National Bank, the central bank announced the cancellation of the existing board of directors.
Furthermore, the banking regulator established a new board of directors and appointed Khalilur Rahman, the bank’s sponsor director, as the new chairman, according to the BB’s communication.
Mezbaul Haque, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank, commented on the development, stating that the action was taken to bolster the bank’s board of directors.
This move comes after a similar action in 2023 when the central bank ordered the dissolution of the National Bank’s board and formed a new one.
Prime Bank PLC has recently received Bancassurance Business commencement approval from Bangladesh Bank.
Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank handed over the approval letter to Nazeem A Choudhury, deputy managing director – consumer banking of Prime Bank PLC, at a ceremony held at Bangladesh Bank recently.
Mohammad Ashfaqur Rahman, additional director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank, Ashraful Alam, joint director, BRPD, Bangladesh Bank, Miah Mohammad Rabiul Hasan, chief bancassurance officer, Prime Bank PLC were also present at the ceremony.
Bancassurance is a partnership between a bank and insurance company that will allow a Bank to sell insurance products of the insurance company through its distribution channels.
To offer a wide range of products to its customers and ensure best in class service, Prime Bank has partnered with leading insurance companies National Life Insurance Company Ltd. and Reliance Insurance Ltd.
Being one of the leading banks of the country, Prime Bank hopes to cater to the needs of insurance requirements of its customers through Bancassurance, in Bangladesh market.
