BD Financial Review
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Forex & Remittance

Bangladesh's Reserves Dip to $34.85 Billion After a Twice Monthly Regional Bill Comes Due

Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves fell to $34.85 billion on November 5, after the central bank paid $1.64 billion in regional import bills through the Asian Clearing Union. Reserves had stood at $36.38 billion a day earlier. The bimonthly ACU settlement is a routine but sizeable drain that lands every two months, and this round also follows a $100 million dollar sale by Bangladesh Bank to steady the taka. The dip is a reminder that Bangladesh's reserve cushion, while well above its 2024 low, still moves with the rhythm of regional trade payments and central bank market interventions.

November 6, 2026Read more

Bangladesh's October Remittances Close In on $2.34 Billion as Growth Holds Near 10 Percent

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $2,339 million in October's first 28 days, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier, Bangladesh Bank data show. Fiscal year to date inflows now total $9,925 million, about 14.4 percent ahead of the same period last year. The growth rate has cooled from earlier in the fiscal year, but remittances remain the main force keeping reserves and the exchange rate stable.

October 30, 2026Read more

Bangladesh's Remittance Record Is Hiding a Widening Financial Account Gap

Bangladesh's remittances hit $10.334 billion for the fiscal year through October 17, up 13.3 percent, enough to push the current account into a $599 million surplus in July-August. But the financial account ran a $1.142 billion deficit over the same two months, as foreign aid disbursements fell 60.9 percent and banks sent dollars out, leaving the overall balance of payments $694 million in the red. Reserves still cover about 5.2 months of imports, but the cushion depends heavily on remittances from a handful of Gulf economies.

October 25, 2026Read more

Bangladeshi Cardholders Spent Nearly Four Times More Abroad Than Foreigners Spent Here in August

Bangladeshi cardholders spent about Tk987 crore abroad in August, nearly four times the roughly Tk249 crore foreign nationals spent using cards inside Bangladesh, new central bank data shows. The gap has held steady for months even as domestic card spending inside Bangladesh actually fell. The imbalance is a small but steady drain on the foreign currency that backs the taka and funds Bangladesh's imports. Bangladesh Bank says it is pushing digital payments like Bangla QR, though mostly to cut domestic cash use rather than to close this specific gap.

October 24, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Bank Sells Dollars Again as Taka Edges Toward Tk124, a Second Market Intervention This Fiscal Year

Bangladesh Bank sold $20 million to commercial banks on October 20 after the dollar threatened to cross Tk124, its second open market dollar sale of the fiscal year. The move came as import bills climb, letters of credit hit a 53 month high, and a five day Durga Puja bank holiday nears. Gross reserves have recovered to $36.39 billion after dipping in late September, giving the central bank room to keep intervening. For importers and savers alike, the small sale signals just how thin the market's patience is wearing.

October 21, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Pitches a Taka-Rufiyaa Swap to Untangle Remittances From the Maldives

Bangladesh Bank has proposed a currency cooperation plan to the Maldives Monetary Authority aimed at making it easier for more than 100,000 Bangladeshi workers in the Maldives to send money home. The move comes after formal remittances from the Maldives fell about 16.4% in FY2025-26 to roughly $118 million, even as the Bangladeshi workforce there has stayed above 100,000. The plan floats rufiyaa settlement through the Asian Clearing Union, taka denominated travel cards, and a possible bilateral currency swap, though all three still need regulatory approval from both sides.

October 12, 2026Read more

A Stronger Taka Is Quietly Undercutting Bangladesh's Export Edge, Just as Shipments Hit a Record

Bangladesh's taka strengthened against the dollar in both July and August even as domestic inflation ran near 9 percent, pushing Bangladesh Bank's Real Effective Exchange Rate index up to 105.37, a level that signals the currency is now overvalued against its trading partners. An unnamed Bangladesh Bank official has said the central bank should consider letting the taka depreciate, warning that export earnings could suffer if it stays this strong. The timing is awkward: the warning lands just as Bangladesh's exports climbed 6.3 percent to 13.1 billion dollars in the first quarter of FY27, raising the question of how much of that recovery a persistently overvalued currency can allow to continue.

October 9, 2026Read more

Remittances Jump 21% in Early October, Reversing September's 11-Month Low

Workers' remittances rose 21.4 percent year on year in the first five days of October, Bangladesh Bank data show, a sharp turnaround from September's 11-month low of $2.77 billion. The July to September quarter still closed 13 percent higher than the same period last year at $8.57 billion, as banks and the central bank credit tighter controls on informal hundi transfers and a more stable exchange rate for pulling expatriate earnings back into the formal banking system. Economists caution that a few strong days do not erase the underlying slowdown that dragged September down, but the early October numbers offer the clearest sign yet that the dip was a blip rather than a trend reversal.

October 8, 2026Read more

Bangladesh's September Remittances Slip to an 11-Month Low of $2.77 Billion, Even as the Quarter Stays Strong

Bangladesh received $2.77 billion in remittances in September, the lowest monthly total in 11 months, according to Bangladesh Bank figures confirmed on October 1. The total is still about 3 percent higher than September last year, and the July to September quarter remains 13.3 percent ahead of the same period a year earlier. September was the fourth straight month to fall short of the $3 billion mark after inflows topped that level every month from December through May. BD Financial Review's own tracking through late September had already flagged a sharp slowdown in the pace of weekly inflows, a trend the final monthly number now confirms.

October 2, 2026Read more

Remittance Inflows Lose Momentum Within September Even as the Fiscal Year Holds Strong

Bangladesh's remittance inflows opened September strong, with $798.12 million arriving in the second week alone, before slowing sharply to $437.80 million in the fourth week, according to Bangladesh Bank's provisional data. The 26 day total of $2,314.87 million trails the pace of July and August, and a simple projection suggests the full month could end up below September 2025's $2,685.56 million total, a rare year on year decline if it holds. The broader fiscal year picture remains healthy, with July through September cumulative inflows still running well ahead of last year, and separate data shows Islami Bank Bangladesh processing the largest single share of the month's transfers even as the bank reports a steep first half loss. Whether September's wobble is a temporary lull or the start of something more persistent should become clear once October's weekly figures arrive.

October 1, 2026Read more

Bangladesh's Remittance Growth Cools Sharply Through September, Even as the Fiscal Year Pace Stays Strong

Bangladesh's remittance inflows are still running well ahead of last year, but the pace of growth has slowed sharply as September has worn on. Early-month data showed inflows up more than 23 percent from a year earlier, but that growth had narrowed to just 1.6 percent by the third week of the month. The slowdown comes even as the broader fiscal year picture remains healthy, with July to September earnings still running close to 14 percent above last year. Bangladesh Bank officials say the inflows continue to support the country's foreign exchange reserves, though analysts are watching closely to see whether the September deceleration carries into October.

September 28, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Bank Opens New Taka Settlement Route for Cross Border Trade

Bangladesh Bank has introduced a framework letting exporters and importers settle cross border trade payments directly in taka through non resident taka, or vostro, accounts held by foreign correspondent banks with authorised dealers in Bangladesh. The mechanism does not replace the dollar based system most trade still runs on, but it lets foreign banks build taka balances against import payments and use them to settle exports or fund permitted investments. The move arrives as Bangladesh Bank looks for ways to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves amid a widening trade deficit and a stronger dollar. Officials have not yet said which trading partners have signed on or how much trade volume they expect to shift.

September 25, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Remittances Rise 17% This Fiscal Year as Reserves Cushion a Stronger Dollar

Bangladesh brought in 7.25 billion dollars in remittances during the first two and a half months of this fiscal year, up 16.9 percent from a year earlier, with September on pace to match that growth. Foreign exchange reserves eased slightly in the first week of September even as remittances climbed, though usable reserves still cover nearly five months of imports. The steady dollar inflow is providing a cushion just as the US Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years raises the cost of everything Bangladesh imports. It also strengthens the case for the country's planned first ever sovereign bond sale by December.

September 21, 2026Read more

What the Fed's First Rate Hike in Three Years Means for Bangladesh's Dollar, Debt and Exports

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate on September 16 for the first time in more than three years, and the ripple effects are already showing up in Bangladesh's calculations. A stronger dollar raises the cost of imported fuel, food and machinery, adds to the bill on dollar denominated debt, and complicates Bangladesh's plan to sell its first ever sovereign bond by December. Economists say the bigger risk lies elsewhere, in energy shortages and regulatory uncertainty that were already holding back foreign investment, but the Fed's move still raises the degree of difficulty on several fronts at once. Remittance flows, which just hit a single day record, offer one rare silver lining.

September 19, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Remittances Hit $1.42 Billion in 13 Days as September Sets a New Single Day Record

Bangladesh received $1.42 billion in remittances during just the first 13 days of September, a 9.3 percent jump over last year that includes a fresh single day record of $193 million on September 13. The surge builds on a fiscal year that is already running 16.9 percent ahead of last year's pace and comes as the United Kingdom rapidly gains ground on Saudi Arabia as a source of inflows. Bangladesh Bank has welcomed the cushion for reserves and the exchange rate, but has also warned that an escalating Middle East conflict could disrupt the roughly $10 billion a year still flowing in from Gulf states.

September 15, 2026Read more

Behind Bangladesh's Remittance Boom, UK Surges, US Fades and a Gulf War Risk Looms

Bangladesh's remittances hit a record 35.59 billion dollars in FY2025-26, with UK inflows up 60 percent even as the United States corridor fell nearly 36 percent. Fresh monthly data shows six of the top ten source countries actually declined between July and August, with growth increasingly concentrated in the UK, Italy, Malaysia and Singapore. Bangladesh Bank is now warning that an escalating Middle East conflict could threaten the roughly 10 billion dollars a year still flowing in from Gulf states.

September 11, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Forex Reserves Slip to $36.38 Billion After Early September Peak, Remittances Keep Buffer Strong

Bangladesh's gross foreign currency reserves eased to 36.38 billion dollars by September 7, sliding back from the 37.41 billion dollar mark touched just a week earlier, as import payments offset a fresh wave of remittance inflows. Usable reserves under the IMF's BPM6 formula stood at 31.47 billion dollars, comfortably above the three month import cover regulators watch as a safety line. Record remittance receipts, including a single day high of 201 million dollars on September 6, are helping cushion the buffer even as global commodity costs and debt servicing continue to test the external accounts.

September 10, 2026Read more

Bangladesh Remittances Hit Record Pace, 637 Million Dollars in First Six Days of September

Bangladesh received 637 million dollars in remittances during the first six working days of September, a 23.4 percent jump over the same period last year, including a single day record of 201 million dollars on September 6. Total inflows for the July to September stretch reached 6.462 billion dollars, up 19.3 percent year on year. The surge is helping prop up foreign exchange reserves and keep the taka stable even as import costs climb.

September 9, 2026Read more

Record Remittance, Rising Reserves, Falling Stocks: Bangladesh's Economic Scorecard

Bangladesh is living through an unusual split-screen economy this August: remittances are up more than 25 percent year-on-year and foreign exchange reserves keep climbing, even as the Dhaka Stock Exchange has been sliding on gas-shortage fears and margin-rule rumours. Here is how the three biggest macro stories of the month connect, and what they mean for prices, jobs and your portfolio.

August 30, 2026Read more