NBFIs Witness 60% Decline in Interest Spread

A legal notice has been served to the governor of the Bangladesh Bank, urging the establishment of a 'shariah banking division' with a distinct organizational structure to oversee and regulate shariah-based banks, financial institutions, and Islamic windows within the country.

A major financial fraud has emerged at Rupali Bank in Bangladesh, involving counterfeit bills for fish imports that cost the bank nearly 150 crore taka. Three companies, Premium Fish Export Limited, Bionic Seafood Export Limited, and SM Corporation, allegedly created fake bills, totaling around 190 crore taka, and sold them to the bank.

Walton has initiated export trade operations with India, conducting transactions in Indian rupees. Standard Chartered Bangladesh executed the inaugural Bangladesh-India export transaction for Walton. The deal was sealed by the CEO of Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC and the CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh.

In spite of persistent economic challenges and inflation, the count of bank accounts in Bangladesh with deposits exceeding Tk 1 crore continued to increase, reaching 1,13,554 by June 2023. This represents an increase of 3,362 accounts compared to March 2023 and 1,09,946 accounts at the end of December 2022.

Prime Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) to introduce the Export Retention Quota Account (ERQ) facility for BASIS member companies engaged in non-physical service exports such as outsourcing, BPO, business services, and advisory services.

Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC has received the Commonwealth Business Excellence Award 2023 for being recognized as the Strongest Bank in Bangladesh. The award was presented during the "Commonwealth Partnership Summit & Business Excellence Awards" ceremony held at the Pan Pacific, Singapore.