Bangladesh will exit the existing International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme signed under the previous government and negotiate a new credit facility with a three-year window to implement priority reforms, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.
Officials hinted the new programme is expected to be worth $4-5 billion, while two tranches under the previous facility, totalling $1.86 billion, remained undisbursed as key economic and banking reform conditions were unmet.
According to the ministry, the policy shift was formalised during a virtual meeting on 21 May between Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke. Discussions covered Bangladesh’s macroeconomic stability, ongoing IMF programmes, and future cooperation.
Preparatory steps are being fast-tracked, with an IMF mission expected in Dhaka in July or August to finalise timelines, disbursement volumes, and the sequencing of reforms.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told the IMF mission that the previous programme was designed under different economic and policy circumstances, which have since changed due to domestic and global uncertainties, hindering reform implementation.
He said the government does not intend to abandon reform efforts. Instead, it plans to sequence measures realistically over three years, aligning them with the country’s economic reality and priorities.
Bangladesh and the IMF agreed on a new programme, reads the Finance Ministry statement.
Bangladesh had sought the last IMF support on 24 July 2022 to maintain balance-of-payments stability and secure budget assistance.
The previous administration requested $4.7 billion under three facilities, later scaled to $5.5 billion by 2025. Of that, $3.64 billion was disbursed in five tranches.
The last disbursement took place in mid-2025, and negotiations over the remaining amount stalled later that year as the IMF wanted to deal with an elected government.
The BNP, assuming office with a landslide victory in the February 2026 election, could not push ahead, mainly due to alterations in the banking reform path and the continuation of subsidies.
According to officials, international partners have key disagreements on banking, subsidies and tax reforms.
They added that a functioning IMF programme is critical to unlock parallel budget support from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
