After the mass uprising of the students, there was a big jump in the country’s remittance flow. Expatriate Bangladeshis sent a total of 240 crores or 2.40 billion dollars in remittances in September. The amount of which is 28 thousand 857 crores in Bangladeshi currency. This is the third highest expatriate income in a single month in the country’s history. This information about remittance flow was informed from Bangladesh Bank yesterday.
Usually around festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, high growth in remittance flows is seen in the country. But this is the first time that expatriates have sent such a large amount of money without any big festival. By reviewing the data of the Central Bank, it can be seen that the highest remittance in the country came in July 2020. During the coronavirus-induced disaster, expatriates sent a record $259.82 million in remittances. That year, Eid-ul-Azhar was a holiday in the country from August 1. Therefore, this festival plays a big role in the arrival of such amount of remittances in July. After that, the second highest remittance of 253 million 86 million dollars came in June this year. Eid-ul-Azha was also in the middle of that month.
Those concerned say that after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, the wounds of the country’s banking sector have started to come out. Several banks are not able to refund the deposits as per the customer’s demand. After the new governor took office, he dissolved the board of 11 private banks. In this situation, expatriates were supposed to panic and turn away from banks. But the picture of remittance flows suggests that expatriates have not followed that path. Rather, they have encouraged sending remittances to the country through legal channels with more sincerity than ever before.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director of Mutual Trust Bank said, ‘The growth of remittances is the beginning of new Bangladesh. Expatriates are seeing the country’s mass upheaval as positive. They think that Bangladesh is now mine, they have to play a role in the formation of this country. The expatriates are mainly participating in the festival of political change in the country.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman thinks that the government should play an effective role in order to retain the enthusiasm of expatriates. He said, ‘If the country is guided in the right direction, expatriates will be more motivated to send remittances through legitimate channels. Expatriates will be disappointed if the country goes astray again. The interim government has promised to improve the quality of services for expatriates at the airport. If expatriates get the respect they deserve, the country’s remittance flow will continue to grow.’
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar also fled on August 5 in the face of the mass uprising of the students. Several decisions taken by him a year ago led to exchange rate instability in the country. Due to this, in September 2023, there was a big disaster in the flow of remittances in the country. Remittances through banking channels were only $1.33 billion that month, the lowest in five years. Remittances of 2.4 billion 4.7 million dollars came to the country last month after overcoming the terrible disaster. Accordingly, more than 107 million dollars of remittances came to the country in September compared to the same period last year. In this case, the growth has been more than 80 percent.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year 2024-25, expatriates have sent remittances of 6.54 billion dollars to the country. 4.90 billion dollars came in the same period of fiscal year 2023-24. Accordingly, the growth in remittances in the first quarter of the current financial year has been 33.3 percent.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Plc has retained the top position in remittance collection in September despite a slight decrease. The bank brought in remittances to the country of 402.7 million dollars in September. The second highest amount of $32.21 million came through Agrani Bank Plc. And the third place in remittance collection was of Trust Bank. Last month, expatriate income of 245.5 million dollars came through the bank.
Managing Director of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, Muhammad Munirul Mawla told Banik Barta, ‘The expatriates were eager to play a role in the reconstruction of the country. After the uprising of the students, they are showing it by sending remittances. Islami Bank has been collecting the highest remittances in the country since its inception. We are still able to retain that position due to the strong confidence of the expatriates. Hopefully, the flow of remittance through our bank will increase.’
The largest labor market for Bangladeshis is Saudi Arabia. The highest remittances came from this Middle Eastern country. But in the past two years more expatriate income has been coming from the UAE. The United States is currently second in terms of remittances. And the third highest is coming from Saudi Arabia.
According to Central Bank data, the highest remittances in the country’s history came in the fiscal year 2020-21. During the year of the coronavirus-induced disaster, expatriates sent a record $24.77 billion in remittances to the country. Earlier, in the financial year 2019-20, remittances came to 18.20 billion dollars. And in the financial year 2021-22, remittances of 21.03 billion dollars and 21.61 billion dollars in the financial year 2022-23. That flow increased slightly to $23.91 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Bangladesh Bank officials say that in the current fiscal year, more than 2 billion dollars of remittances have been received on an average per month so far. If this growth is maintained for the rest of the period, there will be a new record in remittances.