Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
BB Chief Dispels Fear of 'Meltdown': No chances of meltdown in the banking industry are there as the central bank takes remedial package measures to stabilise the distressed commercial banks, the Bangladesh Bank governor said Monday to dispel doubts. Dr Ahsan H Mansur admits there are some banks reeling from serious liquidity crunch following massive-scale loan-related irregularities during ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's regime but they are overcoming the crisis through cash feeding without compromising the macroeconomic stability. (The Financial Express)
2.
BB to Design New Law for Bank Mergers, Acquisitions: The Bangladesh Bank is working to formulate a "Bank Resolution Act" for mergers, acquisitions, liquidation or recapitalisation of banks. A central bank committee has been working for the past two years to make the draft of the law, which is expected to come to light soon. Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur also hinted at the impacts of the act at the 3rd Bangladesh Economic Summit, organised by Bangla daily the Bonik Barta at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital. (The Daily Star)
3.
Lend Funds to Cash-Hungry Banks: An affluent group of 17 scheduled banks receives instructions from the central bank for urgently extending liquidity support to cash-hungry banks for ensuring stability in the country's banking system. Also, a set of other dos was spelt out at a meeting of the Bangladesh Bank with the top brass of the banks in order for overall economic stability. The directions came at the meeting with managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of the banks at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka on Monday with Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H. Mansur in the chair. (The Financial Express)
4.
Railway Cancels Lease of 24 Privately-Run Trains: The railways ministry has cancelled the lease of 24 trains, which are currently being operated by private operators, allegedly for violating conditions of the contracts. The ministry, in a letter on November 3, asked the director general of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to notify the lessees that their contract will be cancelled from December 31 this year. (The Daily Star)
5.
How State-Owned Banks are Boosting Remittance Inflows: Five state-owned commercial and specialised banks – Agrani, Sonali, Janata, Rupali, and Krishi – received more than double the usual amount of remittances in three months from August to October this year, according to central bank data. Sector insiders attribute this to the banks offering higher exchange rates for remittances to address their dollar shortages. (The Business Standard)
6.
TNZ Workers End Highway Blockade After Three Days of Pain and Suffering: After three intense days of protests and blockading the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur, workers of TNZ Apparels finally ended their demonstration late last night (12 November), clearing the road after receiving assurances that their wages would be paid. Traffic on the highway resumed after 10:30pm, confirmed Ibrahim Khan, deputy police commissioner (traffic) of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP). (The Business Standard)
----Saju Sarker
BBN/SSR/AD