IMF loan tranche expected within weeks: Finance Minister

The next tranche of International Monetary Fund (IMF) support expected soon as ongoing reform issues are expected to be resolved within the next 15 days, Finance Minister Amir Khusru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Friday (April 17).

Speaking to journalists after meetings with two IMF teams at the fund’s headquarters in Washington, he said discussions were “positive” and expressed optimism over the disbursement of the loan installment.

He noted that delays were not due to concerns over banking sector reforms, a new banking regulation law, or slow revenue collection, rejecting reports suggesting such issues had led to a suspension of funds.

Bangladesh is currently under a $5.5 billion IMF loan programme, of which $1.86 billion remains pending. The government expects around $1.3 billion to be released by the end of the current fiscal year in June.

Bangladesh signed a $4.7 billion loan agreement with the IMF in 2023. So far, it has received three tranches, including $476.3 million in February 2023, $681 million in December 2023, and $1.15 billion in June 2024.

A scheduled tranche in December was not released, reportedly over procedural concerns related to discussions with an elected government, leaving the combined pending amount tied to both the December and upcoming June installments.

Officials, however, acknowledge that slower-than-expected progress on meeting IMF conditions has raised uncertainty over the timing of the disbursement.

However, the reports suggesting that the IMF had suspended the next tranche due to reform delays were officially denied by Bangladesh authorities, citing, no such decision had been taken and that recent discussions in Washington had been “constructive and productive.”