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.jpg) Bangladesh Bank Building in Motijheel commercial area,Dhaka | |
| Headquarters | Bangladesh Bank Building,Motijheel,Dhaka |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 23°43′36″N90°25′24″E / 23.7266°N 90.42323°E /23.7266; 90.42323 |
| Established | 16 December 1971 (53 years ago) (1971-12-16) (de jure)[a] |
| Ownership | 100%state ownership[1] |
| Governor | Ahsan H. Mansur |
| Key people |
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| Central bank of | Bangladesh |
| Currency | Taka (৳) BDT (ISO 4217) |
| Reserves |  ৳3900 billion (US$32 billion) (October 2025) |
| Bank rate |
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| Interest rate target |
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| Preceded by | State Bank of Pakistan |
| Website | www.bb.org.bd |
| Bangladesh Bank | |
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| Agency overview | |
| Jurisdiction |  Government of Bangladesh |
| Key document | |
| reserves data up to month of Aug 2015. source:"Bangladesh's forex reserves cross record $26 billion mark".bdnews24.com. bdnews24.com. 17 August 2015. Archived fromthe original on 10 September 2015. | |
Bangladesh Bank (BB;Bengali:বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংক,romanized: Bāṅlādēś Byāṅk) is thecentral bank ofBangladesh and is a member of theAsian Clearing Union. It is fully owned by theGovernment of Bangladesh.
The bank is active in developinggreen banking.[2] andfinancial inclusion policy and is an important member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.[3]Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), a department of Bangladesh Bank, is a member FIU of theEgmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
Bangladesh Bank is the first central bank in the world to introduce a dedicated hotline (16236) for people to complain about any banking-related problem.[4] Moreover, the organization is the first central bank in the world to issue a "Green Banking Policy". To acknowledge this contribution, then-governor Dr. Atiur Rahman was given the title 'Green Governor' at the2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which was held at theQatar National Convention Centre inDoha.
On 7 April 1972, after theBangladesh Liberation War and the eventual independence of Bangladesh, the Government of Bangladesh passed theBangladesh Bank Order, (P.O. No. 127 of 1972), reorganising theDhaka branch of theState Bank of Pakistan as Bangladesh Bank, the country'scentral bank and apex regulatory body for the country's monetary and financial system.[5]
The 1972 Mujib government pursued a pro-socialist agenda. In 1972, the government decided to nationalise all banks to channel funds to the public sector and to prioritise credit to those sectors that sought to reconstruct the war-torn country – mainly industry and agriculture.[6] However, government control of the wrong sectors prevented these banks from functioning well. This was compounded by the fact that loans were handed out to the public sector without commercial considerations; banks had poor capital lease, provided poor customer service and lacked all market-based monetary instruments. Because loans were given out without commercial considerations (and also took a long time to call anon-performing loan), recovery under the erstwhile judicial system was so expensive that loan recovery was abysmally poor.[6][7] While the government made a point of intervening everywhere, it did not set up a proper regulatory system to diagnose such problems and correct them. Hence, banking concepts like profitability and liquidity were alien to bank managers, and capital adequacy took a backseat.[7]
In 1982, the first reform program was initiated, wherein the government denationalised two of the six nationalised commercial banks and permitted private local banks to compete in the banking sector. In 1986, aNational Commission on Money, Banking and Credit was appointed[7] to deal with the problems of the banking sector and several steps were taken for the recovery targets of the nationalised commercial banks and development financial institutions (as well as prohibiting defaulters from getting new loans). Still, the efficiency of the banking sector could not be improved.[6]
The Financial Sector Adjustment Credit (FSAC) and the Financial Sector Reform Programme (FSRP) were formed in 1990, upon contracts with theWorld Bank. These programs sought to remove government distortions and lessen thefinancial repression.[7] Policies made use of the McKinnon-Shaw hypothesis, which stated that removing distortions augments efficiency in the credit market and increases competition.[6] They involved banks providing loans on a commercial basis, enhancing bank efficiency and limiting government control to monetary policy only. The FSRP forced banks to have a minimum capital adequacy, to systematically classify loans and to implement modern computerised systems, including those that handle accounting. It forced the central bank to free up interest rates, revise financial laws and increase supervision in the credit market. The government also developed the capital market, which was also performing poorly.[citation needed]
The FSRP became defunct in 1996. Afterwards, the Government of Bangladesh formed a Bank Reform Committee (BRC), whose recommendations were largely unaddressed by the then-government.[citation needed]
Currently, it has ten offices located in Motijheel, Sadarghat, Chittagong, Khulna, Bogra, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur and Mymensingh in Bangladesh; total manpower stands at 5807 (officials 3981, subordinate staff 1826) as of 31 March 2015.
Bangladesh Bank performs all the functions that a central bank in any country is expected to perform. Such functions include maintaining price stability through economic and monetary policy measures, managing the country'sforeign exchange and gold reserve, and regulating the banking sector of the country. Like all other central banks, Bangladesh Bank is both the government's banker and the banker's bank, a "lender of last resort". Bangladesh Bank, like most other central banks, exercises a monopoly over the issue of currency andbanknotes (except for the one, two and fivetaka notes and coins, which are the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Bangladesh).The major functional areas include:
The bank's highest official is the governor. His seat is inMotijheel, Dhaka. The governor chairs the board of directors. The executive staff, also headed by the governor, is responsible for the bank's day-to-day affairs.
Bangladesh Bank also has a number of departments under it, namely Debt Management, Law, and so on, each headed by one or more general managers.[8] The Bank has 10 physical branches: Mymensingh, Motijheel,Sadarghat,Barisal,Khulna,Sylhet,Bogra,Rajshahi,Rangpur andChittagong; each is headed by an executive director. Headquarters are located in theBangladesh Bank Building in Motijheel, which has two general managers.
The executive staff is responsible for daily affairs and includes the governor and four deputy governors. Under the governors, there are executive directors and an economic advisor.[9]
The directors of the departments come under the executive directors and are not part of the executive staff.[9]
Since its conception, the Bangladesh Bank has had 13 governors.[10]Ahsan H Mansur is the incumbent governor of the bank since 2024. The four current deputy governors are:[11]
The general supervision and direction of the Bank's affairs and business are entrusted to a Board of Directors. This Board can exercise all powers and perform all acts on behalf of the Bank.
Composition of the Board:[5]
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Bangladesh Bank publishes a range of periodical publications, research papers and reports that contain monetary and banking developments, economic reviews and various other statistical data. These include:
The Bangladesh Bank Award was introduced in 2000.[12]The winners are:
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