Notwithstanding pressure of liquidity amid splurges ahead of Eid festival, Bangladesh's interbank call-money market showed signs of stability with banks successfully make doing with available cash thanks in part to central bank's backing.
Although the volume of borrowings through interbank call-money market keeps increasing slowly, the weighted average rate (WAR) of call money stood just over 10 per cent Sunday, the second last working day before Eid-ul-Fitr vacation, against 10.38 per cent on March 05, 2026.
While the rate range remained unchanged between 9.88 per cent and 11.50 per cent, most transactions were executed at rates between 9.92 and 10.38 per cent, suggesting steady conditions of the overnight- borrowing market in recent days.
Traders attributed the modest rise to seasonal spikes in cash demand ahead of major religious festivals.
Despite the rate uptick, total turnover on the interbank money market rose to Tk 574 billion in the last eleven working days of this month until March 15 from Tk 491 billion recorded in the previous 11 working days, according to the data of Bangladesh Bank (BB).
In Dhaka's banking hubs - Motijheel, Dilkusha, and other commercial zones - long queues formed at bank branches as customers rushed to withdraw funds before the extended Eid closure. But liquidity remained under control.
"Most banks have been able to manage their funds effectively ahead of the Eid vacation with support from the BB, repo-backed liquidity feeding in particular," said the head of treasury at a leading private commercial bank.
According to the treasury official, adequate liquidity assistance from the central bank, particularly through repo and special facilities, helped banks meet demand without triggering volatility.
Seeking anonymity, a BB official has said majority of the banks have enough liquidity riding on US dollar sales to the central bank in recent days while the regulator has been allowing full liquidity demand through repo window.
Simultaneously, the central banker said, the volume on the call-money market has also been on the rise in recent days. "So, banks can easily meet the demand for liquidity ahead of the Eid."
As the demand for physical cash rises around Eid, the Bangladesh Bank has instructed all commercial banks to ensure uninterrupted operations of alternative delivery channels (ADCs) during the holiday.
These include ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, internet banking, mobile financial services (MFS), and other digital platforms.
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