A joint mission by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank has recommended the establishment of a unified Debt Management Office (DMO) in Bangladesh to strengthen the country’s public debt management framework and mitigate fiscal and operational risks.
The mission report highlighted that Bangladesh’s debt management processes are currently fragmented across various agencies, leading to coordination challenges, inconsistent data, and complications in developing a comprehensive debt strategy. The proposal was unveiled during a workshop titled “Establishing a Debt Management Office” held at the Secretariat in Dhaka, on 4 November 2025.
The workshop was organised as part of the Scheme on Strengthening the Capacity of the Treasury and Debt Management Wing of the Finance Division, which is a component of the Strengthening Public Financial Management to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS) programme.
To address these issues, the mission proposed consolidating all government and government-guaranteed debt management functions under the Finance Division. This would begin with the restructuring of the Treasury and Debt Management Wing. In its first phase, the new DMO would focus on domestic debt issuance, develop annual borrowing plans, coordinate auction schedules, assess portfolio risks, and establish a unified debt database.
The IMF and World Bank also recommended that a clear legal framework be introduced to define borrowing authority, and ensure standards for accountability and transparency.
Additionally, the mission stressed the importance of specialised staffing for the new DMO, with expertise in areas such as capital markets, pricing, settlement operations, and risk management. These experts would be drawn from Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks, and the capital market.