Banks now can collect funds from offshore units to settle import payments

Banks will now be allowed to collect funds from their offshore banking operations for a tenure of six months to settle import payments of capital machinery, industrial raw materials and imports by the government, according to the Bangladesh Bank.

But such placement of funds to domestic banking units will not exceed 25% of a bank's regulatory capital, said a circular issued by the central bank on Thursday.

The facility will remain valid till 31 December this year, the circular also said.

This relaxation will help mitigate the ongoing dollar crisis to some extent, seeking anonymity, a central bank official told The Business Standard. 

Foreign banks usually provide banks in the subcontinent with liquidity support, a private bank's treasury head, said, adding, "Now, our banks will be able to collect dollars this way, which is a temporary solution to the current crisis."