Bangladesh Bank's net profits, buoyed by increased government borrowing and repo operations, shot up 105 percent to Tk 3,858 crore in fiscal 2011-12.

The financial results were disclosed after a board meeting that approved the annual accounts for the fiscal year, AFM Asaduzzaman, general manager of Bangladesh Bank (BB), said yesterday.

The amount payable to government coffers stood at Tk 3,481 crore, up 109 percent from the previous year's Tk 1,664 crore.

Operating profits, at Tk 7,031.74 crore, were 20.48 percent lower than last fiscal year's Tk 8,842.59 crore.

“Operating profits have gone down due to a significant loss in foreign currency revaluation,” a senior BB official told The Daily Star.

Income from foreign currency revaluation in fiscal 2011-12 was Tk 3,173 crore in fiscal 2011-12, when it stood at Tk 6,957 crore in the previous year.

Income from domestic sources jumped to 1,983 crore from Tk 441 crore a year ago. The growth rate was over 122 percent, thanks to higher government borrowings.

The central bank earned Tk 1,206 crore by lending to the government, up by nearly 148 percent from previous year's Tk 299 crore.

Income from foreign sources rose by over 13 percent from Tk 964 crore to Tk 1,091 crore, mainly due to higher interest rate.

The interest income from investment in local banks and the government is referred to as a domestic source, while the interest earned from investments of foreign currency reserves in commercial and central banks abroad is termed as earnings from foreign sources.

News: Daily Star/Bangladesh/30-Aug-12