No need to seek foreign loans through 'sycophancy': BB governor

As Bangladesh's balance of payments has significantly improved, with a very strong foreign savings position, there is no need to seek foreign loans through "sycophancy", Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said today (4 March 2025).

"We will not compromise. Our external financial position is now very strong," he said during a roundtable, titled "Path to Recovery for the Banking Sector", organised by The Business Standard at its office in the capital.

He also said, "To address the government's budget deficit, increasing revenue is the only solution. If we can increase revenue, we won't need to rely on the IMF. I have already told the IMF that we don't need their money."

He further mentioned, "This fiscal year, our remittance income will be nearly $29 billion. Additionally, if our export earnings reach $50 billion, after paying for imports, we will still have an extra $10 billion."

The governor said, "Our current problem is that we are unable to increase bank deposit growth. Private sector savings are not growing. However, if we can improve the balance of payments, that will help our savings growth.

"That's one way to grow savings. The balance of payments, which was negative during the previous government's tenure, is now positive," he added.

"Our foreign savings have increased because our current account balance is positive. To further improve the financial sector, we need to increase deposits from expatriates," he further said.

Ahsan said, "We need to focus on the private sector, particularly on financial accounts. This could be through the stock market or offshore banking units."

"Banks can inject cash flow and mobilise deposits through offshore banking units. We have non-resident Bangladeshis, and we need to increase efforts to bring their deposits back to the country.

"If we can achieve this, our balance of payments will become even more positive," the governor added.