Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Reporting of foreign exchange (forex) transactions is going to be through an online system from January 1 next year, officials said on Sunday.
“The central bank has taken the measure aiming to expedite our monitoring and supervision on foreign exchange deals including the IBP to ensure transparency in the country’s banking system,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the banks normally submit their reports relating to foreign exchange transactions on a monthly basis which makes it impossible for the BB to scrutinize the same properly.
Under the new reporting system, a bank will have to report all types of its foreign exchange transactions to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on a daily basis using BB’s web portal.
The central bank issued a directive in this connection Sunday and asked the commercial banks to follow the latest instruction relating to online reporting of foreign exchange transactions properly.
The central bank has taken different measures against the backdrop of rising trend of large-scale irregularities in purchasing and providing acceptance of the bills against local LC (letter of credit)-denominated foreign currency by various bank branches in recent months.
As part of the measures, the Foreign Exchange Operation Department (FEOD) of BB has already started monitoring export transactions through online reports submitted by the foreign exchange branches, officially known as authorized dealer (AD) branches of the banks.
“In addition to export transactions, the BB has developed an online reporting system for all types of cross-border foreign exchange transactions including foreign exchange transactions through inland back to back LCs,” the central bank said in its directive.
Currently, some 858 ADs of 47 scheduled banks are operating their businesses across the country.
BBN/SSR/SI-09Dec12-9:20 pm (BST)