FBCCI requests Bangladesh Bank to prevent further interest rate hike
Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) has requested the central bank to take measures to prevent a further increase in the interest rate.
They made the request as an FBCCI delegation, led by its newly elected President Md Mahbubul Alam met with Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder at the central bank headquarters on Monday.
The apex trade body also expressed concern as many of them are having to purchase US dollars at a rate much higher than the official exchange rate to meet their overseas transaction needs.
After the meeting, the FBCCI president told the reporters that they had discussed the lending rate issue and requested the governor to take measures to prevent a further increase in the interest rate for formal credit in this challenging period of time when the economy is under stress due to various external and internal factors.
He said that the governor assured them that the lending rate is being fixed in a systematic way based on the SMART rate and there is no chance of an abnormal increase in the lending rate. However, there might be only a slight increase in line with the market-based reference rate.
The FBCCI president also said that they had discussed the persistent shortage of the greenback in the country, requesting the governor to ensure the implementation of the official exchange rate when purchasing the US currency to meet their foreign exchange obligations.
BB Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque said there is no trade imbalance right at the moment and so the price of the US dollar should not be high. He further said the exchange rate is set by the BAFEDA and ABB and the central bank closely monitors it.