Govt positive about carrying forward banking reforms

The government is positive about carrying forward the reform measures taken for the banking sector by the interim administration, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Ahsan H Mansur said Monday.

"We have talked about reforms," he told newsmen after a meeting with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in his office at Bangladesh Secretariat.

"Yes, he [the minister] is positive about the reform measures that we have taken," he added.

The governor said he had updated the minister on the state of the banking sector in the country.

Mr Mansur said inflation needed to be lowered definitely. "There is no different opinion on this."

Inflation remains high in Bangladesh for a long period, with the rate rising to 8.58 per cent this January, driven by stubborn food inflation.

The central bank's continuation of tight and contractionary monetary policies failed to bring the rate of inflation below 8.0 per cent.

There is no sign of inflation going down, though the government has announced to lessen it below 7.0 per cent by this June.

An increased number of lower- and middle-income people now march towards Trading Corporation of Bangladesh trucks, which sell food and other essential commodities at subsidised rates, to save some pennies.

The governor said the finance minister was found to be "supportive of the policies that we have taken to lessen non-performing loans".

"And all the bankers feel that it [the policies] is working," he said.

"We are giving the economy some sort of relief. We have to keep the wheels of the economy running."

Until September last year, default loans in the banking sector reached Tk 6.5 trillion or 35.73 per cent of the total disbursed loans, according to the central bank data.

Mr Mansur said the overall situation of Sammilito Islami Bank was improving.

He said the depositors were getting their money back gradually, and new deposits were coming to the bank.

"We are trying wholeheartedly to keep the bank afloat."

syful-islam@outlook.com