The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has urged Bangladesh Bank Governor Mostaqur Rahman not to approve a proposal by commercial banks to introduce new fees and increase existing charges on a range of banking services, warning that the move would raise the cost of doing business and slow private sector investment.

In an urgent letter sent to the governor today (15 July), CCCI President Mohammed Amirul Haque expressed concern over recent media reports that the Association of Bankers Bangladesh Limited (ABB) had sought the central bank's approval to impose new fees and revise charges across 14 banking services, according to a press release.

The chamber president said the business community believes such proposals would shift unnecessary costs onto businesses and ordinary customers while serving primarily to increase banks' profits.

"At a time when the government is working to stimulate private sector investment and restore momentum to the economy, imposing additional banking charges would create new obstacles to economic recovery," the letter said.

The chamber noted that several recent policy measures taken by Bangladesh Bank had been welcomed by the business community for helping reduce the cost of doing business.

These include the Tk60,000 crore special incentive package, temporary relaxation of the single borrower and large loan exposure policy, allowing direct imports without letters of credit in certain cases, and capping banks' interest rate spread at 4%.

According to the chamber, introducing new banking charges would effectively offset the benefits of those reforms.

"The reduction in lending spreads will bring little benefit if businesses are simultaneously required to bear higher banking fees and service charges," the letter said.

The chamber warned that higher banking costs could discourage new investment, reduce private sector credit growth, weaken overall economic activity and eventually contribute to higher consumer prices.

According to the proposal cited in the letter, ABB has recommended introducing or increasing charges on a wide range of banking services, including Tk100 for submitting an import letter of credit (LC) application, $20 for processing foreign LCs, Tk1,000 for processing local LCs, Tk1,000 for LC authentication, Tk500 for cancelling active LCs and Tk300 for balance confirmation.

The proposal also includes increasing loan processing fees to 2%, charging 1% for loan rescheduling, raising early loan settlement fees to 2%, imposing a 1% fee on buyers' credit management, introducing a 1% charge on corporate loan and trade finance deal structuring, and levying an additional 1% risk premium.

The chamber argued that these charges would significantly increase financing costs for businesses, particularly importers and manufacturers already facing higher operating expenses.

The CCCI also opposed proposals to introduce charges on cash withdrawals from bank accounts. Under the reported proposal, customers would pay Tk100 for each cash withdrawal from the fourth to the tenth transaction in a month, while each subsequent withdrawal would cost Tk300.

The chamber further objected to a proposal to reduce the minimum average balance required for free savings accounts to Tk5,000 and to impose a Tk300 charge on accounts maintaining balances above Tk25,000 under specified conditions.

According to the letter, one of the most concerning aspects of ABB's proposal is a recommendation allowing banks to increase these charges by up to 10% annually, citing higher operating costs, technology investments and inflation.

"If implemented, such a provision would discourage savings among small businesses and ordinary depositors, weaken public confidence in the banking system and undermine the government's vision of building a cashless and digital economy," the chamber said.

The business body said the economy remains at a critical stage, with the government seeking to encourage investment and restore business confidence. In such circumstances, any move that unnecessarily increases the cost of doing business would be counterproductive and could hinder broader macroeconomic stability.

The chamber urged Bangladesh Bank to reject the proposed fee structure in the interest of businesses, consumers and the overall economy.