Bangladesh Bank on Thursday said that the upcoming commercial banks in the country will have to ensure Tk500 crore as paid-up capital instead of the existing requirement of Tk400 crore.
Bangladesh Bank issued a circular to this end, of which insiders said the new rule will be applicable to all who apply for licences to open new banks.
Asked why the measure is not applicable for existing banks, the official said many of them cannot immediately raise their capital base, which included state-run banks, which have long been struggling to manage their required capital.
He went on to say that the central bank had taken the decision to raise the paid-up capital requirement before the Covid-19 pandemic, but it did not implement the rule given the business slowdown.
The central bank also set a paid-up capital requirement of Tk125 crore for digital banks.
The central bank board had approved guidelines for digital banks on June 14.
The Bangladesh Bank official said digital banks would not need huge infrastructures like traditional ones.
So, the amount of paid-up capital required by digital banks is lower than their traditional counterparts, he added.
