Bangladesh Bank will give Tk 1 lakh to each family of those killed in a daring heist at a bank branch in the garment manufacturing hub of Ashulia on Tuesday, Governor Atiur Rahman said. Eight persons, including the branch manager, were killed in the incident that took place in broad daylight, reports the Daily Star. The central bank governor, in a condolence letter to Bangladesh Commerce Bank, expressed sympathy for all those killed, especially the manager, Waliullah Subin, who sacrificed his life to protect the keys to the bank’s vault. Ordinary people had a...

From 2011 and 2014, 700 million people became account holders at banks, other financial institutions, or mobile money service providers, and the number of “unbanked” individuals dropped 20 percent to 2 billion adults, says a new report released today. “Access to financial services can serve as a bridge out of poverty. We have set a hugely ambitious goal – universal financial access by 2020 – and now we have evidence that we’re making major progress,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “This effort will require many partners – credit card compa...

The central bank has expedited purchase of US dollars from commercial banks this month to protect the interests of both exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the greenback stable. As part of the move, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) bought US$475 million directly from the banks during the first 16 days of the current month aiming to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, reports the Financial Express (FE). “The supply side of the foreign currency has improved during the period under review due t...