Dhaka, Feb. 29 -- Bank lending rate surges past 13 per cent with push from rising interest benchmark called SMART or six-month moving average rate of treasuries that jumped to 9.61 per cent for March 2024.

Finding the massive leap in the SMART rate from the February count of 8.63 per cent-to businesses' worry--the central bank lowered the maximum lending-rate margin by 25 basis points.

Banking regulation and policy department (BRPD) of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) Thursday issued a circular readjusting the maximum lending- rate margin downward to 3.50 per cent from the existing 3.75 per cent.

Talking to the FE, BRPD director Shahriar Siddique said the policy rate was enhanced earlier by 50 basis points to 8.0 per cent and it is well- trans...