Bank of Maldives (BML) CEO Mohamed Shareef has said that the bank has dollars, noting that $226 million in loans were disbursed in the first six months of this year alone.
Speaking today at the opening ceremony of the “Youth Entrepreneur Expo,” Shareef pushed back against claims that the bank has run out of dollars. He said the total dollar loans issued from 2021 through the end of 2023 amounted to $249 million, but an additional $142 million was disbursed in 2024, $284 million in 2025, and $226 million in the first half of this year. He added that, with particular focus on tourism — the backbone of the Maldivian economy — total dollar loans extended to businesses had reached $860 million by the end of last month.
“Are we selling this many more dollars now because we don’t have dollars?” Shareef asked pointedly.
He said the bank has sold more dollars to customers during the first six months of this year than at any other point in its history. Covering card transactions, business TTs, education and medical expenses, and cash issued to outbound travellers, monthly dollar sales averaged $21 million in 2021, rose to $37 million in 2023, and now stand at roughly $80 million a month this year.
Shareef also highlighted that the $250 limit imposed on all debit card transactions in September 2020 was raised beginning November last year. Under the revised limits, $1,000 was set for goods and services purchased abroad, and $3,000 for travel tickets, hotels, and medical treatment — limits he said remain in place today.
