$5.5b loan: IMF wants to consult with elected govt before next tranche, says governor
IMF wants commitment from next government to continue extensive reform initiatives
Highlights:
- IMF wants to consult with Bangladesh's next elected government before releasing next instalment of its $5.5b loan package
- BB Governor Ahsan H Mansur says Bangladesh faces no financial stress, seeks policy continuity
- Fifth instalment was due in December and sixth scheduled for June next year
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants to consult with an elected government in Bangladesh before the next disbursement of its $5.5 billion loan package, which is due in December, as national polls are expected in the first half of February next year.
"Bangladesh neither agrees nor disagrees with them," Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, who is currently in Washington to attend the 2025 IMF and World Bank annual meetings, told The Business Standard over the phone.
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He added, "We do not have any financial stress, so it will not be a problem. What we want is policy continuation. We will continue the discussion so that our policy commitment remains on the right track."
Mansur said that what is important is the completion of the review, not the disbursement.
He went on to say, "As the election is near, it will not be logical to complete the review before it, because the Article IV Mission is also included in the review. So, they want to complete the review after consultation with the next government.
"The Article IV Mission of the IMF will arrive in October, and they will also review partially the loan package development, but they will not complete the review."
The governor said the final review will be placed before the board in February, when the election will already be there.
A senior official at the finance ministry, requesting anonymity, said the IMF wants a commitment from the next government to continue the extensive reform initiatives undertaken in the banking sector and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) under the interim government, following the loan package conditions.
Bangladesh has so far received $3.6 billion of the $5.5 billion loan programme. The fifth instalment was due in December, with the sixth scheduled for June next year.
Before releasing each instalment, an IMF mission typically visits Bangladesh for a two-week review to assess progress in meeting reform conditions.
The mission is set to arrive on 29 October to begin its assessment for the fifth instalment.
Bangladesh meets all major IMF targets
Bangladesh has met all major targets, including quantitative performance criteria and reform agendas, required by the IMF for June 2025 for the next disbursement.
One of the key criteria, the net foreign exchange reserves, rose to over $20 billion, surpassing the IMF's target of $17.4 billion for June, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
The net reserve is calculated by deducting short-term debt from the gross reserve, per the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). As of 16 October, Bangladesh's gross reserves stood at $27.3 billion, central bank data shows.
In May 2025, the Bangladesh Bank adopted a more flexible exchange rate regime under IMF guidance, one of the key conditions of the programme.
Since then, the exchange rate, which had spiked above Tk125 per US dollar, has stabilised at around Tk122 in recent months.
The Bangladesh Bank also began phasing out direct lending in foreign and local currency, as part of quasi-fiscal lending according to the IMF's conditions.
Additionally, the central bank has launched sweeping banking sector reforms, including amendments to the Bangladesh Bank Order to ensure full autonomy, changes to the Bank Company Act, the introduction of the Bank Resolution Ordinance and alignment of loan classification standards with international norms.
However, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) remains behind in achieving its tax revenue target.
The government has dissolved the NBR and replaced it with two new divisions under the finance ministry, in a bid to modernise tax administration and improve revenue collection – a move consistent with IMF recommendations.
The IMF has long called for tax reforms to raise Bangladesh's tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains among the lowest in Asia.
