The central bank of Bangladesh will lend $50 million to under-pressure Sri Lanka this week as part of Bangladesh’s efforts to support the Island nation suffering from a foreign exchange crisis.
The credit under the first-ever loan to any country from Bangladesh will be given under the currency swap agreement inked by the BB and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on August 3.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.
As per the deal, the BB will provide a total of $250 million to help prop up the island nation’s fast-depleting foreign reserves and ease pressure on its exchange rate, the Bangladeshi media reported.
The financing will be given in three phases. The first tranche of the loan will be given this week according to a top official of the central bank, Daily Star of Bangladesh reported.
The remaining two tranches will involve $100 million
If the CBSL fails to repay the loan within the deadline, it will get three more months to repay. If it fails to pay back again, it will be given three more months.
The CBSL will return the amount in three months at the interest rate of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) plus 2 per cent. If it can’t honour the deadline, the interest rate will not change.
But if the tenure goes up to six months, the interest rate will be Libor plus 2.5 per cent.
The Libor is the global reference rate for unsecured short-term borrowing in the interbank market and acts as a benchmark for short-term interest rates.
This week, the three-month Libor is 0.14 per cent and the six-month Libor is 0.18 per cent.
If the CBSL fails to return the money, the Sri Lankan government will pay back the loan as per the state guarantee attached in the agreement, the BB official said, adding the outstanding balance limit will never exceed $200 million. He said Bangladesh was not extending the loan for any commercial purpose.
“It is being given to help a friendly SAARC member country which is in trouble. Bangladesh is, however, following the international best practices and maintaining due diligence.”
The decision for the currency swap agreement was set in motion during Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Bangladesh in March.
