Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman on Sunday said, the central bank, for its financial inclusion efforts, would become a role model for many central banks of the globe in a few years.

“In the last few years, you might have noticed that Bangladesh Bank has recalibrated its focus from traditional central banking to a comprehensive, all-encompassing effort at financial inclusion and financial stability,” said Dr Atiur Rahman at the Annual Banking Conference 2013. “The day is not too far away that Bangladesh Bank would be considered as a role model as other central banks would intend to replicate the financial inclusion initiatives of the Bangladesh Bank,” he said.

He said the banking system is playing an important role in running the economy smoothly and thus helping the process of inclusive growth, which is the ultimate objective of the central bank.

Over the last few years, BB has been relentlessly pursuing to attain the expected economic growth through mass participation by emphasising on bringing a large segment of the population who are still un-served or underserved by the banking system into the network, Dr Atiur noted.

“Thus, people like sharecroppers, women entrepreneurs, marginal farmers who did not have access to credit before are now getting financing facilities without hassles and at affordable interest rates,” he said.

In the last few years, stress was also given on adequate financing for agriculture and allied activities, SMEs by promoting green banking and mobile banking and also financial services throughout the country, the Governor mentioned. Pointing out that no-frill bank accounts brought many goods for lower segment of the society, he said, the BB was moving towards activating these accounts by providing smaller loans under refinance schemes.

About improving supervisory capacity of the BB in the face of some recent financial irregularities, he said the BB has started introducing strategic changes in its existing supervision techniques for ensuring financial stability in the banking sector.

News:Daily Sun/25-Nov-2013