NRBs must sell excess USD by Sept 30: BB

The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) with more than $10,000 in their possessions will have to sell the excess amount to banks or money changers by September 30.

Strict legal action would be taken against them if they do not comply, the Bangladesh Bank said in a press release on Wednesday.

A non-resident Bangladeshi can keep a maximum of $10,000 or the equivalent amount of other foreign currencies with him while staying in the country. He can take the amount back abroad while leaving Bangladesh, the press release said.

A central bank official said the country is now facing dollar shortages, which prompted the banking regulator to take such as initiative.

The US dollar prices hit Tk 120 in the kerb market a month ago.

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves rose to an all-time high of $48 billion in the last week of August 2021.

But in the same month this year, reserves declined by $8.67 billion to $39.36 billion due to USD shortages and the need for the banking regulator’s support to stabilise the local forex market.

The central bank governor recently said it would be possible to overcome the current crisis in the foreign exchange market very soon as the government and the banking regulator had taken various measures.