The country counted a 2.55 per cent fall in inward remittances in the just-concluded fiscal year principally for slower development activities in the Middle East.
According to the central bank statistics, released Monday, the inflow of remittances came down to US$14.93 billion in the FY 2015-16 from $15.32 billion a year ago.
"The flow of inward remittances decreased slightly in the last fiscal mainly due to weak development activities in the Middle-Eastern countries because of lower prices of petroleum products on the global market," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said to explain the downturn.
The central banker said devaluation of the currencies of the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia against the US dollar also worked as a damper to squeeze the flow of inward remittances.
The Middle-Eastern countries are still the main sources of remittances for Bangladesh, according to the BB official.
In the FY 15, Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya and Iran together contributed about 60 per cent to the total $15.32 billion sent in by the migrant workers.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $1.46 billion in June 2016, up by $248.21 million from the level of the previous month, for celebration of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival.
In May, the remittances stood at $1.21 billion, the BB data showed. It was $1.44 billion in June last year.
Currently, 33 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1143 drawing arrangements abroad, to expedite the remittance inflow, according to the central banker.
"We're still working to boost the inflow of remittances," another BB official said while replying to a query.
The BB official also said that the central bank had already sent letters to 12 commercial banks advising them to take effective measures to strengthen their inflow of remittances.
In the FY 14, the inflow of remittances declined by 1.61 per cent to US$14.23 billion from $14.46 billion of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed.
But the money sent by the wage-earners reached $15.31 billion in the FY 15, marking a 7.6 per cent growth over the previous fiscal.
The central bank earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriates to send their money home through the formal banking channel, instead of illegal "hundi" system, to boost the country's foreign-exchange reserves.
Most of the private commercial banks alongside the state-owned commercial banks are trying to increase the flow of inward remittances from different parts of the world.
The remittance sources include the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
Talking to the FE, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), expressed concern over creation of new leakage in channeling small-sized remittances through non-banking channels.
"The issue should be addressed by the authorities concerned immediately to boost the inflow of remittance through banking channel," the country's highest remittance-recipient bank's chief executive noted.
Such leaks are also responsible for reducing the amount of overall inward remittances in the FY 16, according to Mr. Mannan.
The senior banker also urged the authorities concerned to take effective initiatives to expedite the flow of remittance for achieving maximum economic growth.
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