BB asks banks to report private foreign loans in CIB

To this end, the central bank today issued a circular saying the directive is set to become effective starting November 1, 2025.

The central bank has undertaken this initiative primarily for the purpose of monitoring external debt and performing comprehensive risk assessments of borrowers. 

Currently, because foreign loan information is not included in the CIB database, a borrower’s true debt burden is not reflected in their CIB report. This oversight has created a situation where a borrower who defaults on a foreign loan still retains the possibility of obtaining new local loan facilities.

Under the new instructions, nominated banks are responsible for reporting detailed information about private sector foreign loans.

According to the circular, information regarding all private sector foreign loans (including suppliers’ credit) accepted by a borrower individual or institution that has been approved by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) or Bangladesh Bank.

Certain private sector foreign loan facilities that do not require approval from BIDA or Bangladesh Bank must also be reported by the nominated bank. This specifically applies to facilities that are not treated as the bank’s own funded or non-funded loan under existing provisions, and which do not create any liability for the bank.

All foreign loan data must be reported in the approved foreign currency and the corresponding outstanding and overdue amounts must also be reported in the equivalent USD.

Information about the foreign lender—including their name, address, and country—along with details of the relevant Bangladesh approval authority must be submitted for each loan.
The nominated bank must collect supporting documents, including the CIB enquiry form, form XII and schedule X issued by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC), and other relevant information from the borrower. 

The nominated bank must then report the subject data of the foreign loan borrower, as well as any individuals or institutions with an interest in the loan. This includes, but is not limited to, directors, shareholders owning more than 20%, and guarantors. 

This reporting must follow the CIB circular and reporting guidelines.

The requirement for monthly reporting of private sector foreign loan data to the CIB database begins on November 1, 2025. The first reporting submission must include loan information spanning up to October 2025.

Crucially, any changes to a loan—such as a new foreign loan being obtained, an existing reported loan being adjusted, or any other modification—must be reported immediately to the CIB database ‘Real Time’.

Banks that submit false or erroneous information, or conceal any data within the CIB database, will be subject to penalties, reports BSS.