Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The central bank of Bangladesh has strengthened its monitoring, aiming to identify ‘unhealthy’ competition among the banks over quotation of foreign currency exchange rates to the overseas exchange houses.
“The central bank has strengthened its monitoring to collect actual rates, offered by the commercial banks, to their overseas exchange houses,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka on Thursday.
Under the latest move, the central bank has started collection of the exchange rates from the commercial banks through e-mail or fax from Thursday.
“We’ll take necessary action against any bank if it is found to be applying any unethical practices over quotation of foreign currency exchange rates to the overseas exchange houses,” the BB official added.
The central bank has taken the move against the backdrop of quoting unusually high rates by some commercial banks to their overseas exchange houses to attract more inward remittances, and these rates often exceed the inter-bank foreign exchange market rates.
On October 5, the BB asked the bankers to quote foreign currency exchange rates to the overseas exchange houses, after applying due diligence and considering the situation in the international forex market.
BBN/SSR/AD-13Oct11-10:02 pm (BST)
