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Commercial banks struggled Thursday to meet the demand for cash withdrawal from a large number of people ahead of next week's Eid-ul-Azha festival pushing the inter-bank call rates up at 22 per cent.
The call rate was 20 per cent Wednesday.
Hundreds of people were seen waiting in queue in front of cash counters of different branches of the both public and private commercial banks. Officials with the commercial banks said the inter-bank call money rate has been rising due to the surge in demand for cash ahead of the Eid festival. They said the call rate might further increase before the market closed for Eid holidays beginning Tuesday next.
The bank officials said traders and general clients of the banks rushed to the banks to withdraw the money for buying sacrificial animals and Eid gifts.
As a result, the bank officials have to face tremendous pressure to maintain their routine work, they said. The withdrawal of money grew further Thursday as the day is the last working day of the week preceding to three days of Eid holidays and weekends beginning from Tuesday next, the bank officials said.
Some commercial banks withstood extra pressure for handling of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad under a drawing arrangement with overseas financial companies.
Huge rush of relatives of expatriate Bangladeshis waited in queues in counters of such commercial banks -- BRAC Bank, National Bank Limited (NBL) and Arab Bangladesh Bank - to receive money sent through Western Union, which is a worldwide quick money transferring agency.
"I can hardly cope with the rush of the clients as the people have been crowding bank counters since the morning to receive money sent by their near and dear ones from abroad," said a private bank official while talking to the FE.
These banks are confronting with additional pressure as they are serving the clients that are withdrawing cash from their accounts and receiving remittances.
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