International Monetary Fund (IMF) has signalled that the next instalment of its multi-billion-dollar loan programme for Bangladesh could be released by July, following an evaluation mission scheduled for April.
The announcement came as an IMF delegation began a series of discussions with Bangladesh Bank to finalise a new roadmap and assess the progress of financial sector reforms.
On Wednesday, the IMF mission chief for Bangladesh, Chris Papageorgiou, led a meeting with central bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman. The delegation also included the IMF’s resident representative, Maxim Krysko.
Following the meeting, Papageorgiou informed reporters that a review mission will visit Bangladesh immediately after the IMF Spring Meetings in April.
This mission is tasked with evaluating the macroeconomic situation, the progress of reforms, and the actual implementation of set targets. The IMF Board will make a final decision regarding the release of the next loan instalment based on that assessment.
This visit follows a previous meeting between the Governor and Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, who requested an updated roadmap for financial sector reforms under the new government.
Consequently, the mission chief is currently in Dhaka to determine the structure and implementation stages of this time-bound plan.
During Wednesday’s discussions, the IMF expressed satisfaction with the progress of Bangladesh’s financial reforms but emphasised the need for the process to be more structured and time bound.
The central bank’s Financial Stability Department presented the progress of various reform measures during the session.
Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, assistant spokesperson and director of Bangladesh Bank, stated that the IMF views the increase in reserves, the transition to a market-based exchange rate, and general financial sector reforms positively.
“They have requested a written, time-bound roadmap, and work on this has already commenced,” he said, adding that the decision on the next instalment hinges on the post-Spring Meeting review.
Bangladesh initially entered into a $4.7 billion loan agreement with the IMF in early 2023 to address its financial crisis, a figure that was later increased to $5.5 billion. To date, the country has received $3.64 billion across five instalments, with $1.86 billion still pending.
The loan programme officially began on 30 January 2023. The first instalment of $476.3 million was received on 2 February 2023, followed by a second instalment of $682 million in December 2023. A third instalment of $1.15 billion was released in June 2024.
Due to delays in meeting certain conditions, the timeline was extended, resulting in Bangladesh receiving a combined $1.337 billion for the fourth and fifth instalments in June 2025.
Although the sixth instalment was originally slated for release last December, the IMF postponed it to allow for discussions with the newly elected government. With those talks now underway, officials believe that the next instalment can be secured by July, provided the reform roadmap is finalised and progress is maintained.
