Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said price volatility in global commodity markets remain a major vulnerability for Developing Asia pacific (DAP) countries as sudden sharp food price spikes increased risk of hunger, particularly for the urban poor.

Food grain growers, on contrary, suffer for steep price fall as supplies improve, he said adding, commodity price stability beneficial for both producers and consumers can be usefully supported by maintaining modest publicly-owned buffer stocks as cushion.

Low income DAP countries while building up such food grain buffer stocks may usefully be assisted by budget support financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Atiur, presently in Tokyo as a member of the Bangladesh delegation to the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings 2012, said this at a special event for Frontier and Developing Asia and Pacific countries on October 14, 2012.

Atiur said Bangladesh and other low income DAP countries need continuing support in growth and poverty eradication efforts.

He was exchanging views on continuing vulnerabilities to global shocks and the role of IMF in supporting the region’s growth momentum.

The event was chaired by the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and was participated by senior government and central bank officials and IMF senior management team.

Expressing concerns over the global economic slowdown, Lagarde stressed on greater surveillance for risk mitigation to overcome the situation.

In his speech, Dr Atiur said IMF’s global policy surveillance needs to remain proactive in countering these trends, to protect and further widen openness of advanced economy markets to goods and services from the DAP.

Countries in South Asia and the broader DAP region have in recent past concluded several new agreements for freer bilateral and regional trade, he quoted saying, “The DAP region can benefit from IMF support in activating trade under these initiatives.”

“Despite low levels of policy interest rates in and outside the region, access to trade financing has remained relatively more constrained and expensive following the global crisis,” he added.

In recent years, speculative position taking by financial institutions in commodity futures markets has tended to exacerbate price volatility, Atiur said adding, IMF’s global policy surveillance may proactively pursue adoption of global discipline barring speculative position taking in commodity futures by financial institutions or other entities with no stake in supply chains of the commodities concerned.

Upholding domestic demand driven component of output growth in low income member economies would require IMF financing support agreements to avoid imposing conditions hurting well-being of the poor, instead keeping the brunt of adjustment burden on the better off.

To this end, IMF assistance programmes may also include financing for member country’s own targeted initiatives supporting output activities of farm and non- farm small businesses including start ups, stressed the BB chief.

Low income DAP countries also need IMF support in putting in place sustainable, affordable social safety nets for the poor; in appropriately structured retirement and pension savings schemes.

IMF can increase its presence in local field offices for first-hand appraisal of the needs and concerns of DAP countries facing shocks from turbulences in the global economy, Atiur recommended.

The representatives are very effective and generally so are the TA support. But still compared to other partners, the IMF is very HQ centric in staffing and this could be rebalanced, he suggested.

Dr Atiur also attended the SAARC Finance meeting on the same day which was participated by finance secretaries and central bank governors of all South Asian nations.

Caption

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman seen with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/15th-Oct-12

Prof Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman of IBBL, presides over a training course at Mohammad Younus Auditorium in Dhaka Sunday.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) organised a five-day training course for its IT officials at Mohammad Younus Auditorium in Dhaka Sunday.

Prof Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman of the Bank, presided over the training course as the chief guest, said a press release.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director, Engineer Eskander Ali Khan, Chairman of Executive Committee and Engineer Muhamamd Dawood Khan, sponsor and former director of the Bank spoke as special guests.

Md Nurul Islam, Eng Mohammad Abul Bashar, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Saleh, Deputy Managing Directors and Abu Taher Mohammad Saleh, Executive Vice President and Director General of Islami Bank Training and Research Academy (IBTRA) attended the programme.

Abdus Sadeque Bhuiyan, Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources Division also spoke.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/15th-Oct-12

Mohammed Gofran was promoted to Additional Managing Director (AMD) of Southeast Bank Limited.

Prior to his new assignment, he was Deputy Managing Director of the bank, said a press release.

He joined Southeast Bank as Executive Vice President in 2003 and subsequently promoted to Senior Executive Vice President and Deputy Managing Director in 2006 and 2010.

He started his banking career as a probationary officer at Pubali Bank Limited in 1977.

During his 35 years banking career, he worked at Pubali Bank, National Bank, EXIM Bank and Jamuna Bank and visited many places including Japan, Thailand, India and USA to attend seminars and workshops.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/15th-Oct-12

Niaz Habib, Additional Managing Director of Dhaka Bank, inaugurates an ATM booth in Dhaka recently.

Dhaka Bank Limited recently opened ATM booths at Rajuk Trade Center at Uttara and Shimnato Square at Dhanmondi in Dhaka and at Belkuchi in Sirajgonj.

Niaz Habib, Additional Managing Director of Dhaka Bank, formally inaugurated the Dhaka booths, said a press release.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/15th-Oct-12

The curtains came down Sunday on IMF and World Bank meetings that were dominated by a gathering row over whether austerity or growth should come centre stage as the world economy seeks a reboot.

The International Monetary Fund -- criticised in the past for its strict prescription of the bitter medicine of deficit cuts -- used the week to articulate a moderated position emphasising growth.

That brought its Managing Director Christine Lagarde into conflict with champions of austerity, in the person of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who insisted there was "no alternative" to budget-slashing.

The dispute was the centrepiece of events in Tokyo, as they jockeyed over how strict to be on countries with runaway deficits.

Lagarde caused a stir on Thursday when she said she was happy for Greece -- bleeding from the spending cuts demanded by international creditors -- to have two more years to meet its deficit-reduction targets.

The following day, Schaeuble said there was "no alternative" to slashing bloated national balance sheets, demands to which Athens and other troubled eurozone capitals have agreed in exchange for multi-billion euro bailouts.

On Saturday both insisted they were on the same page.

"We are in complete agreement with the IMF, and especially with Ms. Lagarde, that in a mid-term view the reduction of too-high debt levels is completely unavoidable," Schaeuble told reporters.

As they sought to paper over the cracks, Lagarde told a separate news conference that talk of a split was over-done.

"In reality, what has been presented as disagreement is more about perception than reality," she said.

"We all recognise that credible, medium-term fiscal adjustments are necessary in all advanced economies... (but it must) be calibrated on a country-by-country basis... it cannot be one-size-fits-all."

Calls for moderation in the pace of fiscal tightening have grown over recent months, with sometimes-violent street protests in debt-laden European countries as joblessness grows and social welfare programmes are trimmed.

There are also escalating fears that cuts are a drag on the global economy.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/15th-Oct-12