During the initial week of the present month, Bangladesh recorded remittances amounting to $368.87 million (equivalent to Tk4,038 crore), according to a report from the Bangladesh Bank (BB). Among this sum, state-owned banks received $32.08 million, while private banks received $329.12 million, the rest of $1.76 million processed through foreign banks.
The recent data reflects a significant decline in remittance inflow compared to the record high of $2.2 billion received in June of this year, marking the highest foreign income for a single month in the past three years. August saw a 19% drop in remittance inflow compared to the previous month’s figure of $1.97 billion.
The decline in remittances is attributed to a substantial gap between formal and informal exchange rates, with some remittance earnings entering Bangladesh through unauthorized channels. To address this issue, the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association (Bafeda) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) have recently adjusted the exchange rate of the US dollar to Tk109.50 for both export proceeds and remittances.
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Bankers explained that while banks offer Tk109.50 per dollar for remittances, the informal market exchange rate stands between Tk117 and Tk118 per dollar. This significant disparity has deterred some remitters from using formal channels.
Notably, the last time Bangladesh experienced a similar dip in remittance inflow was in February when it received $1.56 billion, according to central bank data. In June of this year, the country received $2.19 billion in remittances, and in July of the previous year, the amount was $2.09 billion.
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