Financial system in Bangladesh

The financial system of Bangladesh consists of three broad sectors. They are

1. Formal sector
2. Semi-formal sector
3. Informal sector

The sectors have been categorized in accordance with their degree of regulation. The formal sector includes all regulated institutions like banks, non-bank financial institutions (FIs), insurance companies, capital market Intermediaries like brokerage houses, merchant banks etc.; micro finance institutions (MFIs).

The semi formal sector includes those institutions which are regulated otherwise but do not fall under the jurisdiction of Central Bank, Insurance Authority, Securities and Exchange Commission or any other enacted financial regulator. This sector is mainly represented by Specialized Financial Institutions like House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC), Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Samabay Bank, Grameen Bank etc., Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and discrete government programs.

The informal sector includes private intermediaries which are completely unregulated.

Formal sector

The formal sector of the financial system of Bangladesh comprises two sub-sectors which are,

1. Financial Market
2. Regulators & Institutions

Financial market

There are three types of financial markets in Bangladesh. They are:

1. Money Market : Banks, Non-bank Financial Institutions, and Primary Dealers
2. Capital Market : Investment Banks, Credit Rating Companies, and Stock Exchanges
3. Foreign Exchange Market : Authorized Dealers.

Regulators and institutions

Bangladesh bank(Central Bank of Bangladesh):

regulate 61 scheduled & 5 non-scheduled banks, 34 Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs)

Bangladesh securities and exchange commission:

Stock Exchanges, Stock Dealers & Brokers, Merchants Banks, Asset Management Company (AMCs), Credit Rating Agencies etc.

Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority(IDRA)

18 Life and 44 Non-Life Insurance Companies

Microcredit Regulatory Authority(MRA)

599 Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)

Semi-formal sector

The semi formal sector comprises some Specialized Financial Institutions:

1. House Building Financial Corporation(HBFC)
2. Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation(PKSF).https://www.pksf-bd.org/portal/
3. Samabay Bank
4. Grameen Bank

Informal sector

The informal sector includes private intermediaries which are completely unregulated.