BML reports strong USD liquidity and record financial growth
Bank of Maldives has reported record financial growth, confirming its strong capacity to meet customer demands for U.S. Dollars. After addressing a previous short position with government assistance, the bank successfully stabilized its Net Open Position within regulatory limits. Furthermore, the bank has bolstered liquidity by disbursing 365 million dollars in new tourism loans since 2024. These measures aim to ensure robust financial management and maintain stakeholder trust.
BML CEO and MD Mohamed Shareef. | BML | BML
Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced that its U.S. Dollar Net Open Position (NOP) and dollar liquidity remain at very strong levels.
In a statement, the country’s national bank highlighted that its financial position has reached record growth, ensuring it is fully capable of meeting customer demands.
The Net Open Position represents the difference between a bank's foreign currency assets and liabilities at any given time. This metric indicates the bank's capacity to sell foreign currency and its exposure to potential gains or losses resulting from exchange rate fluctuations. However, the bank clarified that NOP is not a measure of its capacity to disburse U.S. Dollars. In contrast, liquidity refers to the bank's ability to fulfill its obligations, such as customer withdrawals, international transfers, and loan disbursements.
Statistical data shows that BML's NOP had remained low since December 2020. By September 2024, the bank's U.S. Dollar NOP had fallen to minus 20 percent, indicating that the bank had sold approximately an additional USD 200 million by the end of that period. The primary risk at that time was the potential for foreign exchange losses if the Maldivian Rufiyaa were to depreciate.
The bank reiterated that this was not related to its liquidity or its ability to provide funds to customers.
To address the NOP short position, the bank took proactive measures with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance and Planning. Following these transactions, the NOP was converted to a long position last September. Since then, the bank confirms that its NOP has remained well within regulatory requirements throughout this year. Furthermore, the bank sold over USD 600 million last year to facilitate services including telegraphic transfers and card transactions.
As part of its efforts to strengthen U.S. Dollar liquidity, the bank has disbursed USD 365 million in new loans to the Maldives' tourism sector from 2024 to date. The bank also noted that its net loan portfolio for the tourism sector reached USD 585 million by the first quarter of 2026.
BML emphasized that its primary objective is to maintain the trust of its customers and shareholders through transparent and robust financial management.
