Bangladesh鈥檚 gross foreign exchange reserves, calculated under International Monetary Fund guidelines, crossed $21 billion again, driven by strong remittance inflows and export earnings.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, reserves stood at $21.11 billion on Saturday compared with that of 20.35 billion on March 28.
Bankers said that high remittance inflow and export earnings contributed most to the surge in reserve balance.
In addition, according to conventional valuation by the Bangladesh Bank, the foreign exchange reserve increased to $26.38 billion on April 13 from $25.5 billion on March 28.
This improvement in reserve position offers the central bank some breathing space in managing currency volatility and external debt obligations.
According to BB data, from July 2024 to March 2025 of the 2024-25 financial year, remittance inflow totalled $21.77 billion, marking a 27.6-per cent increase from $17.07 billion in the same period of FY24.
Remittance inflow remained above $2 billion consecutively from August any convertible and usable foreign currency permitted under international banking norms鈥攕uch as the Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, or Chinese Yuan.
Central bank officials expect the move will increase the inflow of foreign currency into the country, particularly from NRBs.
According to the circular, NRBs can now open both Private Foreign Currency (PFC) accounts and Non-Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (NFCD) accounts in any usable foreign currency.
Previously, these accounts were restricted to the four major currencies.
Additionally, the fixed interest rates on deposits in PFC and NFCD accounts have been withdrawn.
From now on, banks can negotiate and determine interest rates with account holders based on market conditions and client relationships.
This flexibility is expected to help banks attract more foreign currency deposits and offer more competitive services to NRBs, who contribute significantly to the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserves through remittances, BB officials said.
