Govt’s net debt from banks hits Tk 6,208cr 

In the first seven months of the current financial year, the government's net debt in the banking sector stood at Tk 6,208 crore after it repaid loans of around Tk 32,792 crore, according to the Bangladesh Bank.

Sources said the government borrowed Tk 39,002 crore from commercial banks in the seven-month period. In the seventh month, the debt increased by about Tk 12,500 crore. 

In that month, the government did not take any loan from the Bangladesh Bank and repaid previous loans of Tk 32,792 crore. 
An official of the Bangladesh Bank's debt management department said the government reduced borrowing from the central bank since August last year to control inflation. 

“Now the government is forced to take loans from commercial banks, which impacted private sector debt. The liquidity crisis in banks deepened as the government took out most of the loans. As a result, commercial banks are unable to provide private sector loans,” he said.  

Every year, the government unveils the budget with a large deficit, which is met from two sources – domestic and foreign. If the necessary financial support is not available from foreign sources, the government has to rely more on internal ones, which include banks and sanchaypatra. 

In the current financial year, the target of borrowing from the banking system is Tk 1,32,395 crore. Out of this, long-term borrowing will be Tk 86,580 crore and the rest will be short-term loans.

According to the report of the Bangladesh Bank, at the end of February 15, the total balance of the government's bank loans stood at Tk 4,02,360 crore, which was Tk 3,93,778 crore at the end of June 30 last year.

The report also said Tk 34,633 crore loans were taken from commercial banks against treasury bills. The government took the loans for a minimum period of 14 days to a maximum of 364 days. The rest of the loans were taken against long-term bonds.

In the last financial year, the government took a record loan of Tk 1,22,980 crore from the banking system. Out of this, the central bank provided Tk 97,684 crore and the rest came from commercial banks. 

Meanwhile, the target of borrowing from sanchaypatra this time has been set at Tk 18,000 crore. According to the Department of National Savings, the government did not take any loan from sanchaypatra in the first six months (July-December) of FY24. The net sales of sanchaypatra in this period were negative Tk 6,063 crore.