BB governor Dr Atiur Rahman along with other guests and recipients of the scholarships awarded by Shahjalal Islami Bank poses for photograph at the scholarship awarding ceremony in the city Thursday.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Dr Atiur Rahman Thursday advised banks to set up a separate skills development centre to provide training to the unskilled, which can prevent illegal migration.

He said there is a shortage of skilled manpower at mid-level job position, where people are hired from countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"We (the central bank) will encourage the banks if they establish such a skill development center under their CSR activities," the governor said.

His advice came at a function where Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd (SJIBL) awarded scholarships to 500 poor but brilliant students studying at different colleges and universities, under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities this year.

Presided over by A.K. Azad, chairman of SJIBL, the function was attended, among others, by Farman R. Chowdhury, managing director of the bank, and Md Towhidur Rahman, chairman of the Bank Foundation.

The BB governor said that a committee, headed by a deputy governor of the central bank, is working to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund from the foreign exchange reserves mainly to finance large-size projects of the country.

Dr Rahman said the upcoming budget is likely to allow the farmers to receive loan at 5.0 per cent interest rate to boost the local livestock sector.

In this connection, a fund was created, said the governor, adding that only 20 per cent of the total milk demand in the country is met by local production while the rest of the demand is met by imports.

Appreciating the SJIBL for its scholarship programme since 2006, Dr Rahman expressed the hope that the bank would continue the initiative.

He also expected other banks to follow the philanthropic activities of SJIBL, especially in the education sector so that no meritorious student is deprived of higher studies, irrespective of his or her family's financial situation.

Thanks to the BB's close supervision and continued pressure on banks, the rate of interest and spread were reduced to 11.93 per cent and 4.87 per cent respectively.

Citing Bangladesh's 'stable' credit ratings by Moody's, the BB governor expressed his hope that the local and foreign investment will rise in this congenial environment and the amount of banks' loan will also increase.

He noted that along the instant settlement of payment inside the country, the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system, to be launched soon, will also enable the businesses to get cross-border payment from their foreign partners within a few seconds.

He also encouraged the banks to finance at least one selected village per year in order to pull the villagers out of poverty, and prioritise disbursement of their loan to the projects that are socially responsible.

Mr Azad said that SJIBL will always stand beside the brilliant students.

He also called upon the upper class of the society to extend their financial support to enable poor, but talented students to continue their studies.

If the students are given proper financial opportunity, they will be turned into valuable asset of the country, he added.