Immediate risks to financial sector resolved: BB

Husne Ara Shikha, executive director and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank (BB), today said that the immediate risks to the country’s financial sector have been resolved.
 
“Financial losses have already been reduced, and the critical risks in the financial sector have been addressed,” she told journalists at BB headquarters in the city.
 
She mentioned that the central bank is not entirely satisfied with the progress so far.
 
Over the last five months, from July to November 2024, she said, Bangladesh Bank has implemented several measures to stabilise the economy.
 
These include restructuring of commercial banks, formation of a specialized banking task force, efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market, and inflation control strategies, she added.
 
“Some of these initiatives have already yielded results, but other outcomes will require more time to manifest,” she explained.
 
Discussing the issue of money laundering, Shikha said that approximately 400 accounts were seized by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) as of November 2024, following the recent political changeover.
 
“By the end of 2025, we expect to have a clear understanding of how much money has been laundered, through which banks, and to which countries,” she said, adding that recovering the laundered funds would be a lengthy process.
 
She noted that agencies tasked with recovering the funds are working diligently, but they did not disclose details to the central bank for security reasons.

Source: BSS | 07 January 2025