The central bank has advised the banks to fix rationally the exchange rate of local currency against the US dollar, officials and bankers said Sunday.

The instruction was given at a review meeting on the recent foreign exchange market volatility at Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters in the capital Sunday.

The treasury heads of 21 banks, which were active in the exchange market last month, were present at the meeting, with BB executive director Ahmed Jamal in the chair.

Among others, Mohammed Nurul Amin, Chairman of Bangladesh Foreign Exchange and Dealers' Association (BAFEDA), was present at the meeting.

The BB sought information on all foreign currency transactions the banks executed between April 02 and April 30 to find out the causes of the recent volatility in the exchange market.

The meeting also discussed about the role of some exchange houses and few exporters during the days of volatility, meeting sources said.

The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) depreciated by nearly 3.50 per cent against the greenback in just two weeks since April 11 at the customers' end.

The average bills for collection (BC) rate of US dollar rose to Tk 83.6683 on April 26 from Tk 80.8460 on April 11, according to BAFEDA figures.

However, the average BC rate came down to Tk 82.1708 on April 27, after imposing a cap -- inter-bank exchange rate plus Tk 2.0 -- by the BB on April 26. It fell further Sunday to stand at Tk 82.1328 a dollar.

The net open position (NOP) limit of holding the foreign exchange by all banks was reviewed at the meeting, considering the exiting market situation, according to the bankers.

They said the treasury heads requested the central bank to revisit the NOP limit and the BB officials showed positive response in this regard. "We had discussions on the issue," the BAFEDA chief told reporters after the meeting.

Talking to the FE, a BB senior official said the central bank was thinking about revisiting of the NOP limit of the banks. "It may introduce bank-wise limit, revising the existing all-bank limit."

Earlier on July 27 last year, the BB had raised substantially the NOP limit of all 56 scheduled banks to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable.

It was increased by more than 45 per cent to US$ 2.19 billion from $1.51billion earlier.

The new NOP has been determined on the basis of 20 per cent of the total regulatory capital of the banks as on March 31, 2016.

Earlier, the NOP was re-fixed on the basis of 15 per cent of the total regulatory capital of the banks as on March 31, 2015.

Replying to a question, Mr. Nurul Amin said the market would be more stable in the near future as the member banks of the BAFEDA have been advised to properly follow rules and regulations on forex transactions.  

The BAFEDA proposed the BB to allow exchange brokerage houses to bringing a balance between the demand and supply in the forex market.

"We're thinking about introducing brokerage houses in Bangladesh," the BAFEDA chief said.

The brokerage houses, an interbank mechanism, might play a good role in an emerging market, but there was no foreign exchange broker in Bangladesh to balance the demand and supply, said a senior treasury official of a leading private commercial bank.

Another BB official said the central bank was examining the proposal on the brokerage houses.