Bangladesh Bank has taken initiatives to collect foreign currency through Non-Resident Convertible (NRC) accounts and relax investment limits and tenure restrictions on three types of bonds introduced for expatriates to boost foreign exchange reserves.
At the same time, the central bank aims to set targets to reduce banks' corporate lending and increase loans in the retail and small and medium enterprise (SME) industries.
There is a plan to bring corporate loans down to 45 percent starting next year.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman disclosed these plans Saturday at the "5th Bangladesh Economic Summit-2026," organized by Bonik Barta at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
The governor said that NRC accounts have already been launched, and the accounts are being promoted internationally with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Through similar accounts, India raised $32 billion and Pakistan raised $13 billion within four to five months. Bangladesh also wants to collect foreign currency in this manner.
However, the central bank is also cautious to ensure that repayments under the NRC scheme over the next three to four years do not put major pressure on the reserves.
Noting that the tenure of the three types of bonds currently available to expatriates is capped at a maximum of 15 years, the governor said an initiative has been taken to lift this limit and make the tenure open-ended.
He mentioned that there is currently an investment equivalent to around $604 million to $606 million in these bonds. If the restrictions can be relaxed, more foreign currency will flow into the country, increasing reserves.
Meanwhile, the governor stated that 70% to 80% of private banks' loans are going to the corporate sector.
He said commercial bank licenses were not granted solely for corporate lending, and loan disbursement targets for this sector may be fixed for next year.
He urged bankers to disburse at least 20% of their loans to retail customers and 35% to the SME sector, while bringing the share of corporate loans down to 45%.
The governor added that arrangements must be made for large industrial enterprises to raise their necessary financing from the capital market. This will create purchasing power and demand in the economy and also make it easier for large industrial enterprises to survive.
