Bangladesh Bank meets IMF team to review the use of $4.7 billion loan

The IMF review team - sent to monitor how the initial funds from the first round of funds from the $4.7 billion loan - met with the Bangladesh Bank from 10am to 11am today (19 October). 

The central bank will make a formal statement on this at 2pm.

The closing meeting was chaired by central bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukeder.

The review team came to Bangladesh on 4 October to check on the progress and use of loan funds under Article IV of the IMF agreement. 

The team laid out its final conditions for the release of the second tranche at the meeting on Thursday.

Bangladesh Bank finalised the policy targets regarding the amount of net reserves, the rate of defaulted loans, the reduction of the inflation rate, and the market-oriented changes to the exchange rate by next June.

The central bank will make a formal statement regarding the agreement and talk with the IMF at 2pm.

The IMF team also met with the Association of Bangladesh Bankers for the first time.

The IMF head office will decide on the release of the second instalment after these discussions are concluded.

A review mission previously came to monitor the progress of the agreement in May. 

Following that visit, the IMF said that the second instalment of the loans given under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) could be released by the end of the year after the review.