Bangladesh Bank

Bangladesh Bank (বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংক, Bānlādesh Byānk) is the central bank of Bangladesh. It is a body corporate established by the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 (President’s Order No. 127 of 1972), amended in 2003, and the Order is deemed to have taken effect on 16 December 1971 ¹³. Its head office is at Motijheel, Dhaka ¹.

Legal basis and establishment

The Order’s preamble states its purpose as establishing a central bank in Bangladesh "to manage the monetary and credit system of Bangladesh with a view to stabilising domestic monetary value and maintaining a competitive external par value of the Bangladesh Taka towards fostering growth and development of country’s productive resources in the best national interest" ³. Bangladesh Bank treats 16 December 1971 as its establishment date; the first Governor took office on 18 January 1972 ¹⁵.

Governance

The general superintendence and direction of Bangladesh Bank is entrusted to a nine-member Board of Directors headed by the Governor, who is the Chief Executive Officer ²⁷. As of 19 September 2026 the Board comprises the Governor as chairman; the Secretaries of the Finance Division, the Financial Institutions Division and the Internal Resources Division; three external directors from research and academic institutions; and a Deputy Governor. The Secretary to the Board is an Executive Director of the Bank ⁷.

Governor

The current Governor, and the 14th holder of the office, is Md Mostaqur Rahman (FCMA), who joined on 26 February 2026 ⁴⁵. His appointment was announced on 25 February 2026 ⁹. He succeeded Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, who served from 14 August 2024 to 25 February 2026 ⁵.

Deputy Governors

Four Deputy Governors were listed as of 19 September 2026: Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman; Dr. Md. Kabir Ahmed (appointed for three years effective 8 September 2024); Md. Sarwar Hossain (three-year term effective 2 July 2026); and Md. Anis Ur Rahman (appointed 6 July 2026) ⁶.

Complete succession of Governors

Governor	Term
Md Mostaqur Rahman FCMA	26 February 2026 onwards
Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur	14 August 2024 – 25 February 2026
Mr. Abdur Rouf Talukder	12 July 2022 – 9 August 2024
Mr. Fazle Kabir	20 March 2016 – 3 July 2022
Dr. Atiur Rahman	1 May 2009 – 15 March 2016
Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed	1 May 2005 – 30 April 2009
Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed	29 November 2001 – 30 April 2005
Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin	24 November 1998 – 22 November 2001
Mr. Lutfar Rahman Sarkar	21 November 1996 – 21 November 1998
Mr. Khorshed Alam	20 December 1992 – 21 November 1996
Mr. Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri	12 April 1987 – 19 December 1992
Mr. M. Nurul Islam	13 July 1976 – 12 April 1987
Mr. A.K.N. Ahmed	19 November 1974 – 13 July 1976
Mr. A.N. Hamidullah	18 January 1972 – 18 November 1974

Source: Bangladesh Bank’s own published list ⁵.

Statutory functions

Section 7A of the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 sets out six functions ²:

1. to formulate and implement monetary policy;
2. to formulate and implement intervention policies in the foreign exchange market;
3. to advise the Government on the interaction of monetary policy with fiscal and exchange rate policy, on the impact of various policy measures on the economy, and to propose legislative measures it considers necessary or appropriate;
4. to hold and manage the official foreign reserves of Bangladesh;
5. to promote, regulate and ensure a secure and efficient payment system, including the issue of bank notes;
6. to regulate and supervise banking companies and financial institutions.

Bangladesh Bank separately lists its functional areas as: formulation and implementation of monetary and credit policies; regulation and supervision of banks and non-bank financial institutions and promotion of domestic financial markets; management of international reserves; issuance of currency notes; regulation and supervision of the payment system; acting as banker to the government; money-laundering prevention; collection and furnishing of credit information; implementation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act; and management of a deposit insurance scheme ¹.

Its stated monetary policy objectives are price stability (internal and external), sustainable growth and development, high employment, economic and efficient use of resources, and stability of the financial and payment system. A Monetary Policy Statement is issued twice a year, in January and July. The instruments used are the Bank Rate, open market operations, repo and reverse repo, and the statutory reserve requirements (SLR and CRR) ².

Offices

Bangladesh Bank states that it has ten offices, located at Motijheel, Sadarghat, Chittagong, Khulna, Bogra, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur and Mymensingh, and that it has 45 departments and 10 branch offices ¹².

Deposit insurance

A deposit insurance scheme was introduced in August 1984; all scheduled banks are members, and the governing statute is the Bank Deposit Insurance Act, 2000. A Deposit Insurance Trust Fund was created, and the Board of Directors of Bangladesh Bank is its Trustee Board. A Deposit Insurance Department sits under a Deputy Governor ²⁶. Bangladesh Bank’s own page states the level of protection inconsistently — in one place as "not exceeding Taka 0.01 million" and in another as "taka one hundred thousand per depositor per bank" — and both statements are recorded here as they appear in the source rather than reconciled ².

Governing legislation

Bangladesh Bank publishes the list of instruments under which it operates. As of 19 September 2026 this includes the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972; the Bank Company Act, 1991; the Bank Deposit Insurance Act, 2000; the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012; the Payment and Settlement System Act, 2024; the Finance Company Act, 2023; the Offshore Banking Act, 2024; the Secured Transactions (Movable Property) Act, 2023; the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2021; the Bank Resolution Ordinance, 2025 and the Bank Resolution Act, 2026; and the Financial Reporting Act, 2015 ⁸.

Verification notes

• The current manpower figure is not published. The only figure on Bangladesh Bank’s own site is a total of 5,807 staff (3,981 officials and 1,826 subordinate staff) as of 31 March 2015 ¹. That figure is thirteen years old relative to the figures elsewhere in this article and is given only with its date.
• Total assets, capital or reserve figures are not stated here; no balance-sheet figure was retrieved from a T1 source in this research round.
• The deposit-insurance coverage figure is recorded exactly as the official page presents it, including the internal inconsistency noted above ².
• The exact date of taking office for Deputy Governor Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman is not given on the Bank’s page and was therefore not verified ⁶.

Sources

9 sources cited. Tiers: T1 official or primary, T2 scholarly or curated, T3 media of record.

1. Bangladesh Bank — About Us — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/index
2. Bangladesh Bank — Regulators of the Financial System (statutory functions, mandate, deposit insurance) — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/financialsystems/regulator
3. The Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 (President’s Order No. 127 of 1972) — Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-415.html
4. Bangladesh Bank — Governor — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/governor
5. Bangladesh Bank — Governors (succession list) — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/bbgovernors
6. Bangladesh Bank — Deputy Governors — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/deputygovernor
7. Bangladesh Bank — Board of Directors — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/board_of_director
8. Bangladesh Bank — Laws and Acts — Bangladesh Bank (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/about/lawsnacts
9. Mostaqur Rahman appointed Bangladesh cenbank head, government says — Reuters (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mostaqur-rahman-appointed-bangladesh-cenbank-head-government-says-2026-02-25/

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