Bangladesh's central bank dismisses liquidity crisis rumour

Dhaka, Nov 14 (IANS) The central bank of Bangladesh has dismissed "conspiratorial" social media posts inducing people to draw their deposits from banks.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) said there is no liquidity crisis in banks and deposits are completely safe, reports Xinhua news agency.

BB spokeswoman Sayeda Khanam said in a statement on Sunday that "conspiratorial information was being disseminated on various social media provoking people to withdraw their deposits from banks".

She said the banking system of Bangladesh is in a strong position.

"There is no liquidity crisis in the banking system," she noted in the statement.

"No bank in the country was shut in 51 years since Bangladesh's independence. Hopefully, no bank in Bangladesh will be closed down in the coming days. People's deposits in banks are completely safe," said the BB spokeswoman.

Amid efforts to bolster its foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $34.3 billion, Bangladesh is seeking $2 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

On November 9, the International Monetary Fund confirmed that it had reached a staff-level agreement with Bangladesh that paves the way for the release of the much-awaited $4.5 billion in loan support.