Risk-based supervision in banks planned: BB Governor

Risk-based supervision in banks will begin in January on a full scale to restore discipline in the banking industry, says Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur.

As part of the financial-sector reforms, he said Tuesday, the central bank has already started piloting with the mechanism and the trial run of such supervision in all commercial banks will complete by this calendar yearend.

"It (the trial) has already been completed in 20 banks. We want to bring back discipline in the banks through avoiding recurrence of previous bitterness in the system. And we will become successful undoubtedly," the chief the central bank told the audience at the launching event of Google Pay in Bangladesh at a city hotel.

For the first time in Bangladesh, the US-based global tech giant, Google, has officially launched its digital-payment service, Google Pay, in partnership with The City Bank.

Sharing improvement in the country's micro-management over the last several months, Mr. Mansur expects that the overall balance of the economy would be surplus in next July while the foreign-exchange reserves will be expanded by $7.0 billion-$8.0 billion from the level when he took the leadership of the central bank.

Talking about fourth and fifth tranches of the IMF loans that just got approved, the governor said the objective of both sides was to leave the exchange rate to the market but the difference was when it will be implemented.

Under unstable environment, he says, the market-driven exchange rate will be costly. "That's why we took time for nearly six months and improved the situation before leaving it to the market. Now the result is visible," leader of the banking regulator told the meet. Stressing the importance of virtual transactions, the governor said with the launch of Google Pay in the country, Bangladesh took another step forward towards a cashless society.

He calls upon the bankers to intensify their efforts in the area of financial inclusion through covering all the school students under their banking services.

Despite various progresses in recent years, he said, Bangladesh was still lagging behind many of its regional and global peers. To increase financial inclusion, the government has been promoting all the channels like digital-payment tools, agent banking, MFIs (micro-finance institutions) to reach out to the last households.

"Banks should adopt every school and each student shall have bank account. By doing so, the commercial lenders can increase their base of future clientele," he notes.

With the launch of Google Pay, City Bank customers will now be able to link their Mastercard or Visa cards to Google Wallet and use Google Pay to make fast, secure and contactless payments.

Using Near Field Communications technology, customers can simply tap their Android smartphones at compatible point-of-sale terminals both in Bangladesh and abroad to complete transactions. The service employs advanced encryption technologies to ensure the safety and privacy of customer information. With this, smartphones essentially become digital wallets, eliminating the need to carry physical cards.

From air travel to everyday shopping, Google Pay is expected to transform the way payments are made.

Mashrur Arefin, managing director and CEO of City Bank, said, "This partnership reflects our commitment to building a forward-looking digital payment ecosystem in Bangladesh. We are proud to bring this innovative service to our customers."

Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Dhaka Tracey N Jacobson and Vice Chairman of City Bank Hossain Khaled were present as special guests at the programme.

The event was also attended by Shammi Quddus, group product manager at Google Payments, Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager of Mastercard Bangladesh, and Sabbir Ahmed, country manager of Visa Bangladesh.

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