Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.

New banks go for risky lending
New banks are lending out heavily — 70 to 80 percent of their total loans — to corporate clients instead of small and medium enterprises and retail consumers, insiders and analysts said. The risk is: if a big client fails to pay back in time, the bank may suffer as it may not be able to make adequate provision from its small profit.

Remittance decisive in GDP, financial sector
A study has revealed a very positive relation between inward remittances and the per capita gross domestic product (GDP). “If there is 1.0 per cent rise in the remittance inflow, the per capita GDP will grow by 0.12 percentage point in the short-run (usually 3 years),” the econometric analysis conducted by the Finance Division has estimated. The per capita GDP stood at US$ 1,115 in the fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Tax on interests on small saving deposits to continue

The National Board of Revenue has opined negatively on giving exemption to the small depositors on paying tax on interest income derived from deposits below Tk 5 lakh in savings accounts in banks and other financial institutions. In a summery sent to finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith last week, the revenue board said that it would create adverse impact on revenue collection and tax compliance issues if the group is exempted from paying tax on interest and profits on deposits. ‘Around 96 per cent of savings account holders may go out of tax net and the government will lose at least Tk 573 crore a year if the facility is given,’ the revenue board said in the summery.

Bangladesh launch capsize death toll rises to 64

The death toll in Bangladesh’s launch capsize climbed to 64 as 23 more bodies were recovered from the sunken vessel early Monday. The recovery was made nearly 17 hours after the launch, MV Mostafa, after being hit by a cargo vessel sank in the Padma river in Manikganj, a central district of Bangladesh, Sunday noon.  The deceased include eight children, local police said.

Banks’ deposits fall as savers rush to savings tools

Deposits at banks dipped 1.07 percent in January from a month ago as savers rush to government savings schemes that offer higher interest rates compared to the banking system. Total deposit at the country’s 56 banks was Tk 702,814 crore as of January 29 this year, down by Tk 7,658 crore from Tk 710,472 crore in December 31 last year. Bankers said banks have been lowering interest rates on deposits for nearly two years due to dull investment situation.

Bangladesh’s stocks edge up, turnover down
Bangladesh’s stocks edged marginally higher on Sunday with turnover remained sluggish as investors went for late hours buying on lucrative stocks defying ongoing political turmoil. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 13.94 points or 0.29 percent to close at 4,802.17 points.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips gained 10.29 points or 0.57 percent to close at 1,788.15 points.

BB cautions banks on terror financing
The central bank of Bangladesh asked all commercial banks on Sunday to scrutinise the mode of transactions strictly in their bid to check for terror financing both at home and aboard. The instruction came at a meeting of the central taskforce on anti-money laundering held at the Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters in Dhaka with BB Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan in the chair.

BBN/SSR/AD-23Feb15-10:05 am (BST)