Bangladesh Bank receives $2.5 billion loan proposal from WB, ADB
The central bank has received a total of $2.5 billion loan proposal from the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in several packages, including structural reform, policy implementation, and investment loan.
Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson and Executive Direction Husne Ara Shikha confirmed to The Business Standard that the proposal was given in a meeting of the central bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur and other senior officials with delegations of the WB and the ADB in Dhaka today (15 September).
“A $1 billion loan proposal was received from the World Bank. They proposed a $750 million policy-based loan for which the central bank needs to do some policy implementation. Also, $250 million in investment loans are under process,” the BB spokesperson said.
A senior official of the central bank present at the meeting told TBS that the World Bank is yet to say anything directly about what kind of policy the central bank has to implement.
However, they mentioned some of the work of the Bank Reform Task Force such as asset quality review and audit, the official added.
On the other hand, the ADB proposed a $1.5 billion policy-based loan in three phases which includes a $200 million investment loan, central bank Spokesperson Shikha said, adding that $500 million of the loan can be received within 2025.
Meanwhile, the visiting US delegation, led by Brent Nieman, the assistant secretary of the US Treasury Department, called on the central bank governor today. The delegation was informed about the macroeconomic situation of the country.
The US treasury team did not mention any loan amount to the central bank, the BB spokesperson said.
