Amid the ongoing dollar crisis, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder sat with Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association chairman Afzal Karim and Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) chairman Selim RF Hussain on Thursday.
Sources said that the meeting was held at the headquarters of the central bank as the dollar crisis has hit the kerb market again with some moneychangers selling US dollar at Tk 118 on the day.
The price of the USD increased to Tk 118–Tk 120 this month. The Bangladesh Bank suspended the licences of seven money exchangers for manipulating the dollar rate. Even after taking action by the central bank, the USD crisis has worsened again.
Some money exchangers are not buying USD from customers. Money exchange traders said that the inflow of the USD was comparatively less from banks and remitters. As a result, they don't get enough money from them.
Insiders said there is a difference in the rate of the USD between the kerb market and the banks. So, this crisis is going on, they added.
Bankers claim that some exporters have not paid their export proceeds because export earnings will again rise next month after the ABB-BAFEDA meeting.
However, remittances and export earnings have declined in recent times. Banks are facing problem opening letters of credit (LCs) due to dollar crisis.
Talking to The Business Post, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh Ahsan H Mansur said, “The dollar market has become volatile again. The interbank market will be in trouble as the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has to devalue taka again.”
Money exchangers hold the dollars as they expect that the dollar price will rise again, he added. Last year, the dollar rate soared to Tk 122.
Then BB took many measures to deal with the dollar crisis. Since September 2022, ABB and BAFEDA had been fixing the multiple dollar rates for every month.
ABB and BAFEDA fix the rates for remittances and exports. But many banks are not abiding by the rules. The dollar market became volatile as several banks are charging higher rates for export proceeds, BB explained.
