The banks in Bangladesh have received instructions from Bangladesh Bank not to purchase remittances or income from expatriates for more than 123 taka. This directive was delivered orally. The dollar rate has thus gone up by an additional 3 taka. since the dollar’s official exchange rate was 120 taka up until this point.

This information was confirmed by a few central bank and private bank treasury heads.

For the past two years, there has been volatility in the nation’s dollar market. In the final four months following the installation of the temporary administration, things returned to normal. The dollar market unexpectedly began to tremble last week. A few banks purchased US dollars for 126–127 taka. Even so, the most expensive rate for purchasing remittances was 120 taka.

According to bankers, some government and private sector banks began purchasing expatriate income dollars at a premium rate at the beginning of December in order to settle outstanding import obligations. This forced other banks to buy dollars at a higher price. As a result, the dollar price suddenly increased.

However, Bangladesh Bank recently identified 13 banks for suddenly buying dollars from foreign exchange houses at a higher price and sought an explanation from them. There were two state-owned and 11 private sector banks on the list seeking explanation. After that, the banks reduced the remittance rate. Due to the good market in the last two days, the remittance rate has also decreased slightly compared to the previous one.

The deputy managing director of a private bank, who did not want to be named, said, “Many of our payment terms were moved to December. So the demand for dollars is high this month. The banks bought remittances at a higher price to make payments on time. However, now Bangladesh Bank has verbally stated that they will buy remittances at 123 taka. The dollar rate has been increased due to payment pressure.”