Bangladeshis' deposits in Swiss banks dip by record 93.7% in 2022

The overall money parked by Bangladeshi individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks hit a record low at 55.2 million Swiss francs (CHF) or about Tk540 crore in 2022 – a 93.7% drop from 871.1 million CHF a year ago.

However, individual deposits have increased by 35.3% to CHF 35.6 million or about Tk348.4 crore from CHF 26.3 million a year ago.

This record decline in deposits in Swiss Banks is due to a 97.7% decline in bank deposits.

In 2022, the amount deposited from Bangladeshi banks to Swiss banks was CHF 19.34 million, down from CHF 844.5 million a year ago.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) released the data in its annual banking statistics for 2022 on Thursday.

An extensive pressure of foreign payments in 2022 is one of the main reasons for the record low figure, Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank told The Business Standard.

In that year, Bangladesh had to make payments of nearly $8 billion to $9 billion each month, Mahbubur Rahman said.

He said that usually the money in the accounts with the Swiss banks of our country's banks is kept for payment.

Due to the dollar crisis in the country since February of last year, the banks have withdrawn whatever sources of dollars they had because they need to make payments first without keeping any deposits.

At the individual level, deposits increased because the tendency of people to go abroad has significantly increased, and they prefer to keep their money in foreign banks.

However, the amount that has increased in individual accounts is very low compared to the total.

In terms of the total deposited figure, Indian money in the banks was the highest among South Asian countries, with an 11.2% fall to 3,400 million CHF.

Bangladesh stood in fifth position among South Asian countries in terms of the total deposit in Swiss Banks, and it experienced the largest fall (93.7%) in year-on-year deposits, followed by Afghanistan (77.5% fall) and Pakistan (45% fall).

Among all the South Asian nations, Nepal saw the biggest increase in deposits, around 62% to 482 million CHF.

Deposits by Maldivian citizens stood at 4.9 million CHF, with a 47.7% increase, and Sri Lanka has seen an 18.8% increase to 66.5 million CHF.

According to SNB statistics, the data on "total liabilities" of Swiss banks to Bangladeshis includes all types of funds, including deposits from individuals, banks, and other enterprises.

The report explained that the deposits as "liabilities" of Swiss banks are the official figures provided to the SNB by the Swiss banks.

The figures do not indicate anything about the much-talked-about illicit money, if any, parked by Bangladeshis there.

According to the SNB statistics, its data of "total liabilities" of Swiss banks to Bangladeshis includes all types of funds, including deposits from individuals, banks, and other enterprises.

The report explained that the deposits as "liabilities" of Swiss banks are the official figures provided to the SNB by the Swiss banks. The figures do not indicate anything about the much-talked-about illicit money, if any, parked by Bangladeshis there.