Bangladesh Bank’s newly appointed Governor Mostaqur Rahman has promised to continue the ongoing reforms of the banking sector without succumbing to political pressure. Apart from this, he advised MDs to report directly to the Managing Director (MD) of a bank if they face any political interference in terms of lending or good governance.
The governor said that the ongoing reforms of the banking sector, including the restructuring of the board of directors of troubled banks, will continue uninterrupted.
He said this in a meeting with the representatives of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), the organization of the top executives of the bank on Sunday (March 1).
A total of 19 bank MDs attended the meeting led by ABB Chairman and City Bank MD Masrur Arefin. Apart from the Governor, three Deputy Governors Noorun Nahar, Habibur Rahman and Kabir Ahmed were present on behalf of Bangladesh Bank.
When asked, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said that the Governor informed the bank officials that the ongoing reform process will continue. Besides, the banks have been instructed to cooperate in the implementation of the government’s promise to create new jobs.
Apart from this, an office rent structure will be fixed for opening new bank branches, so that banks do not have to approach the central bank repeatedly for each approval.
Regarding the meeting, ABB Chairman said, ‘The first meeting with the new governor was successful. The governor was very sincere. He listened patiently to each of the 19 of us and outlined several of his key priorities.’
Masrur Arefin said that the governor emphasized on creating a business and production friendly environment with the aim of creating one crore new jobs. He emphasized on productive utilization of non-performing assets created from defaulted loans. For example, he discusses how closed factories can be relaunched through new manufacturing or service initiatives.
AmarBangla/SAB
