Bangladesh Commercial Banks' Forex Holdings Plummet to $3.94 Billion in September

Strategic Insights -

Bangladesh's central bank has been actively intervening in the foreign exchange market to stabilize the exchange rate and prevent a sharp decline in dollar-taka pricing. As a result, commercial banks' foreign-exchange (forex) holdings have dropped to $3.94 billion in September, a decline of over 10% from the previous month. The central bank's purchases of US dollars from the interbank spot market through auctions have been the primary reason behind the fall in forex holdings, according to officials and money-market experts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The gross foreign exchange held by commercial banks stood at $3.94 billion in September, a decline of over 10% from $4.36 billion in August.
  • The central bank has purchased over $2.13 billion in US dollars since July 13, 2025, to stabilize the exchange rate and manage liquidity in the banking system.
  • The value of import orders increased by over 13% to $6.22 billion in September from August's count of $5.38 billion, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.
  • The net open position (NOP) in banks dropped to around $800 million from over $1.20 billion recorded three months ago.
  • Dr. Md. Touhidul Alam Khan, Managing Director and CEO of NRBC bank, stated that the central bank purchases dollars from banks to stabilize the exchange rate and forex market, and to control exchange rate for wage-earner remittance.
  • A treasury head of a private commercial bank mentioned that the increase in import orders and the central bank's forex-buying interventions are contributing to the fall in banks' forex holdings.

Statistics:

  • Gross foreign exchange held by commercial banks: $3.94 billion in September
  • Decline from previous month: over 10% ($4.36 billion -> $3.94 billion)
  • Central bank purchases of US dollars since July 13, 2025: over $2.13 billion
  • Value of import orders: $6.22 billion in September, up 13% from August's $5.38 billion
  • Net open position (NOP) in banks: around $800 million, down from over $1.20 billion three months ago
  • Year-on-year decline in forex holdings: 26% from $4.99 billion recorded in the same period last year

Sources:

  • Officials and money-market experts, citing Bangladesh Bank data
  • Dr. Md. Touhidul Alam Khan, Managing Director and CEO of NRBC bank
  • Treasury head of a private commercial bank, preferring anonymity
  • Bangladesh Bank data on forex holdings and import orders