The European Central Bank inched closer to a  “digital euro” on Wednesday with the formal launch of a pilot project, but questions remain about potential pitfalls and benefits for eurozone citizens.

India’s move to ban Mastercard for breaching data storage rules has destabilized the country’s financial sector as it will disrupt bank card offerings and affect revenues, payments and banking industry executives said to Reuters. 

The government’s borrowing from the banking system declined sharply in the just-concluded fiscal year as it took on a staggering amount of debt through the sales of savings certificates and bonds.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday declared a new stimulus package worth Tk 1,000 crore for hotels, motels and theme parks suffering for the ongoing business slowdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh has recently been recognised as the “Best International Bank” at Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2021. 

Chinese banks are facing the threat of rising bad loans in the future as the current economic recovery is unbalanced and lacks a solid foundation, the country’s top banking and insurance watchdog said on Wednesday.

CDC Group, the development finance institution and impact investor of the United Kingdom, has extended a trade finance loan of $30 million to City Bank.

Loans written off by banks declined sharply in the first quarter of this year as the lenders’ capacity to keep 100 per cent provisioning against their delinquent assets has decreased because of the slowdown in their business.

Bangladesh can save $19.32 billion over the next five years, or about $4 billion annually, if it can eliminate errors and leakages in the social safety net programmes and cut administrative and transaction costs, according to Asian Development Bank.

Premier Bank recently witnessed the appointment of its new deputy managing director and chief business officer.

As central banks dabble with digital currencies, commercial lenders are ramping up efforts to influence policy and technical plans, according to more than half a dozen industry executives and public filings.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday said that clients would enjoy regular banking hours before the start of the Eid-ul-Azha vacation so that they can celebrate the religious festival with joy.

The European Central Bank’s meeting next week will see policymakers discuss changing the forward guidance they give on the direction of policy following the ECB’s shift to a more symmetrical 2 per cent inflation target. 

Risk currencies hovered above their recent lows against the dollar and the yen on Monday, as fears about slowdown in the global economic recovery appeared to have subsided for now.

The central bank yesterday said all foreign companies and joint ventures operating in Bangladesh would be able to take soft loans from the stimulus packages rolled out by the government.

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday eased rules to make more credit available for consumers to buy digital devices with a view to accelerating digitalisation and narrowing the digital divide.

Mercantile Bank has recently inaugurated an “Automated Challan System” enabling depositing VAT, tax, government fees and other payments in a fast and safe manner and reducing the possibility of fraud under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank. 

Dhaka Bank has recently reelected its chairman, Abdul Hai Sarker, who is also its founding chairman. 

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on banks is relatively exclusive considering other industry trends.

Banks clearing gold trades in London can apply for an exemption from tighter capital rules due in January 2022, a British regulator said on Friday, removing what some said was a threat to the functioning of the market.