MRA Issues Notices to 50 MFIs for Missing Annual Reports

Agent banking has successfully extended financial services beyond urban centers into rural Bangladesh, becoming a trusted channel for savings and basic banking. By February 2025, the number of agent banking accounts reached 2.44 crore, with over 25 lakh new accounts added in just one year. Notably, rural residents dominate this growth, holding nearly 2 crore accounts, and women now account for over 1.2 crore accounts.

A study published in Nature Portfolio reveals that increased access to credit is driving rural transformation in Bangladesh by boosting agricultural productivity and creating non-farm employment opportunities. The research, based on data from the Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) across three waves (2005, 2010, 2016), highlights that mean credit disbursements per household rose from Tk 12,116 in 2005 to Tk 27,616 in 2016, while the proportion of households with credit access increased from 26.2% to 35.8%.

Loan disbursements to the CMSME sector dropped by 16% in the July-September quarter of FY25, falling to Tk 44,202 crore from Tk 52,654 crore in FY24, as per Bangladesh Bank data. Political instability, including protests and government unrest, contributed to the decline by dampening business confidence and investment.

A study titled "Microfinance Competition in the Presence of Moneylenders: Theory and Evidence" found that the presence of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rural areas significantly lowers interest rates and reduces reliance on informal moneylenders.

Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury from North South University has been appointed as the chairman of Grameen Bank, according to a notification from the Financial Institutions Division (FID) on Tuesday. This appointment follows the cancellation of the previous chairman’s contract on August 20, 2024. The former chairman, who had served since March 16, 2020, was reappointed three times, with the last extension in April 2024.

Local microfinance institutions (MFIs) have increasingly relied on clients' savings and their own surplus funds, moving away from heavy foreign funding dependence. In FY23, over 70% of MFI funds, totaling around Tk 1,620 billion, came from income surpluses and members' savings.