Deposits in Bangladesh’s banks have increased by 9.5% year-on-year (YoY) in September.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, bank deposits in the country rose to Tk1,623,139 crore in September 2023, marking an increase from Tk1,482,177 crore in September 2022.
It was Tk1,594,584 crore in June 2023.
Term deposits surged from Tk1,304,000 crore in September 2022 to Tk1,437,000 crore in September 2023.
Demand deposits also increased from Tk177,000 crore in September 2022 to Tk185,000 crore in September 2023.
There was a decline in deposits earlier, as in February 2023 bank deposits dropped to Tk1,408,000 crore from Tk1,490,000 crore in October 2022 and Tk1,486,000 crore in November 2022.
The government’s significant borrowing from the central bank, particularly in the second half of FY23 significantly contributed to the growth of deposits.
According to the BB data, the government borrowed Tk124,122 crore in FY23 against Tk59,833 crore borrowed in the previous financial year.
Of the total amount, the government borrowed a whopping Tk98,826 crore from the central bank and Tk25,296 crore from the country’s commercial banks in FY23.
The surge in borrowing from the central bank led to an increase in money supply on the financial market, bankers said.
Currency outside banks dropped to Tk253,000 crore in September from Tk291,000 crore in June.
However, the effect on banks’ deposit balances was not as noticeable due to an ongoing liquidity crisis, bankers said.
Over the past 28 months, the central bank sold approximately $26 billion from its foreign exchange reserves.
This included $4.5 billion allocated to banks in July-October of the current FY24, $13.5 billion in FY23 and $7.62 billion in FY22.
The gross foreign exchange reserve in Bangladesh, according to International Monetary Fund guidelines, dropped to $19.5 billion on November 15 from $23.25 billion on August 31.
