CCCI urges BB not to impose new banking charges

 
CHATTOGRAM, July 15: Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mohammad Amirul Haque on Wednesday sent an urgent letter to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), urging the central bank not to impose any new charges on banking services.

In the letter, the CCCI requested Bangladesh Bank not to approve any proposal to introduce new charges on banking services provided to customers or to increase existing service charges.

Amirul Haque said the business community had recently learned through media reports that the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) had submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Bank Governor seeking permission to introduce charges on 14 new banking services and increase charges for several existing services.

He said such proposals may help banks increase their profit margins by imposing additional costs on ordinary customers and businesses, but they would also raise the cost of doing business and reduce the competitiveness of domestic products and services. 

The CCCI president also expressed concern over the proposal to raise banking service charges by 10% annually to offset higher administrative and technology costs and inflationary pressures.