Financial sector being mended without printing money or selling dollars: Governor

Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur has said that efforts are underway to address issues in the financial sector without printing money or selling dollars from reserves.

He believes that if these measures succeed, inflation will decrease. This would be great achievement if people’s anger and suffering are alleviated.

Ahsan H Mansur made these remarks at a roundtable discussion organised by Prothom Alo titled "Where do we want to see the banking sector?"

The event took place at Prothom Alo's office in Karwan Bazar of Dhaka on Tuesday.

Ahsan H Mansur said that three task forces are being formed for the reform of the banking sector. One task force has already been established, and several measures have been implemented, including changes to the boards of some banks.

To improve the situation, 10 to 11 weak banks are now under regular supervision, he said adding these banks report on 20 specific issues to Bangladesh Bank every day.

The central bank governor said, "After implementing these measures, deposits in banks have increased by Tk 80 billion. This is a great relief. Once the liquidity crisis is resolved, we will move on to the next steps."

Ahsan H Mansur noted that if the current trend in the dollar market continues, there will no longer be instability in the market. For the first time, the exchange rate for remittances in dollars is higher than the rate in the open market. The dollar market is stabilising.

The governor said, "Reducing inflation is my primary responsibility. Various measures are being taken to achieve this. Monetary policy is already stringent, and steps are being taken to make it even stricter. While there may be temporary difficulties for businesses, inflation will decrease, ultimately benefiting the overall economy."