A file photo shows the Bangladesh Bank headquarters in Dhaka. The net profit of Bangladesh Bank decreased by 49.04 per cent to Tk 1,038 crore in the financial year 2014-2015 compared with that of Tk 2,037 crore in the FY 2013-2014 due to a dull situation in local and international business.

The net profit of Bangladesh Bank decreased by 49.04 per cent to Tk 1,038 crore in the financial year 2014-2015 compared with that of Tk 2,037 crore in the FY 2013-2014 due to a dull situation in local and international business. BB officials said declining gold price on the international market and devaluation of the euro against the taka were major external factors for the slump in the BB’s net profit. An internal factor was that the central bank had to pay huge amount of interest to the scheduled banks against their reverse Repo, through which the BB takes loan from banks to control money supply. The banks were compelled to invest their fund in the reverse Repo as they faced excess liquidity due to the dull business amid political unrest and uncertainty in the FY15. The interest earnings of the BB also declined massively from the government borrowing as it (government) did not borrow from the central bank in the FY15. Rather it repaid a portion of debts due to a rise in sales of savings instruments and slow implementation of its development projects. The government repaid Tk 6,870 crore more than the fresh borrowing it made from the banking system in the FY15. The board of directors of the BB on Sunday approved the financial balance sheet at a meeting which was presided over by BB governor Atiur Rahman. The central bank will deposit Tk 956.86 crore in the government exchequer from its net profit in the FY15. It deposited in the government exchequer Tk 1,562 crore in the FY14 and Tk 4,072 crore in the FY13. The total income of the central bank was Tk 10,038 crore in the FY15. BB board member Mustafa Kamal Mujeri told New Age on Sunday that the central bank’s profit declined in last fiscal year as the government borrowing dropped significantly during the period. The BB usually earns a good amount of profit by giving loans to the government, but it (government) did not borrow from the banking system in the FY15. He said that the BB had to pay huge amount of interest payment to the banks against investment in reverse Repo with the central bank that also played role in decreasing its profit. Another BB board member Sadiq Ahmed told New Age on Sunday that the government borrowing decreased in the FY15 as the net investment in government savings tools significantly increased in the period.