Bangladesh Bank’s monthly Economic Trends reports have been publishing incorrect data for four consecutive months.
The discrepancy concerns the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) section on Page 39, which shows the number of transactions and transaction amounts.
In the latest edition, the August and September 2025 figures are identical: 1,62,40,007 transactions worth Tk69,470.7 crore.
However, earlier reports from November 2025 show different numbers for September.
In that edition, August’s figures were the same, but September’s EFT transactions were reported as 1,57,46,700 with an amount of Tk74,817 crore.
The December report claimed EFT increased by Tk1,158.7 crore or 1.67 per cent in October compared to September, while the November report indicated a decrease of Tk4,187.5 crore, or 5.6 per cent.
Similarly, cumulative figures for July–October 2025 were reported as a Tk8,113.2 crore, or 2.80 per cent, rise year-on-year in December, whereas November’s data suggested an increase of Tk13,459.4 crore, or 4.65 per cent.
The data mistake is affecting all the other editions too.
The latest edition covering July–January 2026 reports a Tk1.13 lakh crore, or 2.23 per cent, increase; but accounting for September’s figure as Tk74,817 crore, the actual increase should be Tk1.66 lakh crore, or 3.28 per cent.
After noticing the discrepancies, TIMES of Bangladesh contacted Bangladesh Bank.
“There is a mistake in that figure. It will be corrected,” said Bangladesh Bank Director of Statistics and Editor Monthly Economic Trends Md Nurul Islam.
This raises concerns over the reliability of the bank’s published EFT data, which is widely used by analysts, banks, and businesses to track digital transaction trends.
