The strong upward trend in remittance inflows continued in May. According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank, expatriate Bangladeshis remitted US$3.425 billion to the country during the month.
Bangladesh Bank published the remittance figures for May on Monday.
The data show that remittance inflows in May increased by 15.34 per cent compared with the same month last year.
In May of the previous year, expatriates had sent US$2.969 billion to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Bank reported that remittance inflows reached US$3.127 billion in April and nearly US$3.75 billion in March.
Before that, expatriates remitted US$3.02 billion in February, US$3.17 billion in January, and US$3.22 billion in December.
As a result, remittance inflows have exceeded US$3 billion for six consecutive months since December.
Islami Bank Bangladesh remained the leading remittance-collecting bank, followed by Bangladesh Krishi Bank.
Banking sector officials said that expatriate Bangladeshis sent higher amounts of money home during March and April due to Eid-ul-Fitr and the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel in the Middle East.
The trend continued in May ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. In addition, the Middle East crisis has enabled expatriates to receive a higher exchange rate for the US dollar, as the Bangladeshi taka has depreciated somewhat against the dollar.
According to Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh received a total of US$32.7568 billion in remittances during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025–26 (July–May), representing an increase of more than 19 per cent compared with the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
During the first 11 months of the previous fiscal year, remittance inflows stood at US$27.5069 billion.
Remittance inflows by bank
Private commercial banks channelled the largest share of remittance inflows into the country. In May, expatriates remitted approximately US$23.867 billion through private banks.
Among the private banks, Islami Bank Bangladesh received the highest volume of remittances, amounting to approximately US$592.1 million in May.
BRAC Bank ranked second among privately owned banks, receiving nearly US$410 million.