Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Overdue LCs: Bangladesh will clear all overdue payments relating to letters of credit (LCs) within the next five to six months, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Ahsan H Mansur assured correspondent banks yesterday. The central bank governor made the commitment during a virtual meeting between the Bangladesh Bank and the correspondent banks. (The Daily Star)
2.
Nafeez Sarafat: In a brazen case of conflict of interest, Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, former chairman of Padma Bank, drained Tk245 crore from the scam-hit bank to an asset management company, Strategic Equity Management Limited (SEML), which is owned by his wife Anjuman Ara Shahid. But he did not stop there; he invested funds from this asset management company into a new non-bank finance company in which both his wife and son Raheeb Safwan Sarafat Chowdhury are shareholders. (The Business Standard)
3.
World Bank Funding: World Bank's funding to Bangladesh this fiscal year is going to be ramped up by over US$2 billion to assist the reform agenda of the post-uprising interim government. The commitment of the lending package came from WB Country Director Abdoulaye Seck when he called on Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna in Dhaka on Tuesday, said a spokesperson for the CA after comprehensive exchanges between the two. ( The Financial Express)
4.
FX Reserves: “According to the latest data, foreign exchange reserves amount to $24.3 billion. It is close to $20 billion according to the BPM-6 calculation standard of the IMF,” said Bangladesh Bank (BB) Spokesperson Husne Ara Shikha in a video message on Tuesday, reports BSS. Net reserves are calculated according to the International Monetary Fund’s BPM-6 measure. Subtracting short-term liabilities from gross or total reserves gives the amount of net or actual reserves. (The Business Post)
5.
S Alam sons: Ashraful Alam and Asadul Alam Mahir, two sons of controversial businessman Mohammed Saiful Alam, deprived the state of Tk 75 crore in taxes by legalising Tk 500 crore in undisclosed income, documents obtained by The Daily Star have revealed. They even brazenly resorted to irregularities and exploited a bank controlled by S Alam Group, of which Saiful is the chairman, according to letters from tax officials to their higher authorities and the two brothers. (The Daily Star)
6.
New Board for Nagad: The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has formed a management board to determine the future action plan and strategic management of mobile financial services (MFS) provider Nagad. The central bank sent a letter in this regard to the Director General of the Department of Posts on Tuesday (17 September). (The Business Standard)
---Saju Sarker