The government borrowed around Tk17,770 crore from banks in February and March this year while receiving only Tk1,409 crore from non-banking sources.
In February, the government borrowed roughly Tk6,803 crore and in March, around Tk11,000 crore from the banking industry.
A Bangladesh Bank report indicates that from July to March of FY23, the government borrowed Tk52,360 crore from the banking system. The central bank received Tk50,380 crore (96.21%) of that total amount.
Meanwhile, instead of purchasing saving certificates, customers have been withdrawing more money from the banking system.
In the period from July to February of FY23, customers invested Tk55,862 crore in saving certificates while withdrawing Tk59,372 crore, according to the most recent data from the Bangladesh Bank.
The data indicate that Tk3,510 crore more was withdrawn than what was deposited.
To cover the budget deficit for FY23, the government set a target to borrow Tk106,334 crore from banking sources.
In the meantime, the government paid back more loans obtained from the scheduled banks than it had borrowed from them during the current fiscal year.
According to sources at the Bangladesh Bank, as of December 2022 of FY23, the government had paid the scheduled banks about Tk20,000 crore.
The scheduled banks' liquidity situation is fairly normal. In January, February and March, banks purchased government treasury bills and bonds totalling Tk5,722 crore, Tk 7,844 crore and Tk 6,024 crore respectively.
