Last month 18 local PCBs bumped up their lending rates by 0.25 to 3.5 percentage points, with the highest rate standing at 18.5 percent for consumer's credit.

Interest rates on term loan, working capital and trade finance have gone up by 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points. The rates now range between 11 and 14.5 percent on term loan and working capital. It stands at 15.5 percent, the second highest in lending, in case of trade finance.

However, a section of private bank officials told The Daily Star they have given loans to 'good' borrowers at single-digit rate of interest.

In case of various types of deposit, 33 PCBs including the local and foreign ones have increased their interest rates by 0.15 to 2.75 percentage points. The highest rate on deposit is now 11.25 percent.

The nationalised commercial banks, on the other hand, have not opted for the hike and kept their interest rates between 9 and 12.5 percent.

"We have increased the interest rates by 0.5 to 1 percentage point, but only in case of new loans. The increased rates are not applicable to old loans," said Pubali Bank Managing Director Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled.

"We have not raised the rates on deposits yet. If we have to do it, we may have to further push up the lending rates," he told The Daily Star.

Banking sources said the move has reduced lending and increased deposits. Consequently, excess liquidity in banks has swelled, bringing down the interest rate on call money.

GOVT GIVES IN TO IMF RECIPE
Since the coalition government came to power, the finance minister and Bangladesh Bank have been persistently pressurising the commercial banks to scale down the lending rates to single-digit ones to meet borrowers' demand.

Though the finance minister's target was not achieved, the interest rate on export credit came down to 9 percent and on industrial loans below 12 percent.

But, in last April, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission advised the government to adopt a contractionary monetary policy. Following the IMF's recipe, the central bank asked the commercial banks to scale up their interest rates.

Last week, the leaders of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) at a meeting with Finance and Planning Minister Saifur Rahman expressed dismay at the interest rate hike. They said it has dangerous implications for the manufacturing sector and would adversely affect the small and medium enterprises and the service sector.

In reply, the minister said in the past he had sat with the banks regularly and managed to keep the interest rates down, but the World Bank and the IMF have been insisting on a higher interest-rate regime…

After the approval of the fourth instalment of Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) loan to Bangladesh, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato at an Executive Board meeting remarked, "A tight monetary policy stance is important [for Bangladesh] to ensure price stability and orderly exchange market conditions."