DHAKA, Jan 16, 2025 (BSS) - Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur today called upon businesses to maintain compliance anyhow.
"The central bank has taken a number of initiatives to control the overall inflation and hopes that the positive impact will be reflected in the market soon," he said.

The governor said this while meeting with members of the Board of Directors of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), led by its President Taskeen Ahmed, at BB headquarters here, said a press release.

Mansur said the banks have been directed to open LCs without any margin to keep the prices of goods stable during the upcoming Ramadan, especially during the import of essential goods.

He said currently there is no crisis of dollars in the market, and the price is quite stable, but the central bank will not determine the value of the dollar; rather, value will be determined based on the supply and demand of this currency.
 
"But we are very cautious about the stability of dollar price in the market, and our strong monitoring in the market will continue, the governor said. If the inflation falls down to around 7 percent in June-July this year, bank interest rates will fall further on the market basis," he said.

During the meeting, Taskeen Ahmed suggested keeping the bank interest rates a little bit lower in the prevailing situation to help the private sector credit flow to grow and boost private investment.

He said a CMSME entrepreneur has to provide at least 31 documents to get the benefit from the Credit Guarantee Scheme and for these reasons small entrepreneurs sometimes are deprived or lose hope of getting credit facilities.

The Dhaka Chamber president also requested the central bank to extend the deadline for the loan classification period for at least 3-6 months, considering the current situation of the country's economy, so that the businessmen can accommodate economic adjustments and ensure smoother repayment capabilities.

He also requested the governor to relax the existing stringent policies for setting up overseas business offices abroad to some extent, which would ultimately expedite export and investment.
DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed later proposed to increase the accountability of the central bank as well while ensuring transparency and accountability of the country's overall financial sector.

DCCI Senior Vice President Razeev H Chowdhury, Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman, and high officials of Bangladesh Bank were also present during the meeting.