Dhaka, April 23 -- The weighted average interest rate spread in the local banking sector exceeded 5% in February after 2015, driven by rising lending rates.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the overall interest rate spread rose to 5.04% in February 2024 compared with 4.66% in December 2023, and significantly up from 2.93% in June 2023.
The spread was highest after February 2015 when it was at 5.04%.
The introduction of a lending rate cap at 9% from April 1, 2020 led to a sharp decline in the interest rate spread at that time.
However, the spread began to increase after the central bank removed the 9% lending rate cap in July the following year.
Currently, some banks are charging close to 13% for loans, while deposit rates have been i...