Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Monday reiterated its firm decision to retain power with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in relation to the removal of directors of state-owned banks (SoBs).

The Muhith's stance is opposed to a suggestion made earlier by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to transfer the same authority to the Bangladesh Bank (BB).

The IMF had asked the government to empower the BB to dismiss errant bank directors of SoBs through amending the Bank Company Act (BCA), 2003, to create a level-playing field in the banking sector. The BB is authorised to fire directors of private commercial banks (PCBs) for any wrongdoing.

"The consent of the government (MoF) in removing bank directors from SoBs should be a must since the government appoints them," Mr Muhith, responding to a question, told a group of reporters coming out of a closed-door meeting with the visiting IMF team at his office.

A team of Extended Credit Facility (ECF) mission of the IMF arrived in Dhaka on November 27 last on a 10-day visit. The mission members are now busy reviewing the reform measures undertaken by the government in the financial, banking and revenue matters.

"We held a very effective meeting between ourselves as issues like amending BCA, containing subsidy, enacting Value Added Tax (VAT) Act and adjusting fuel prices were the topics of discussion," Mr Muhith told the reporters.

AMA Muhith when asked about the reasons for not transferring power to BB said, "Because, we appoint them (directors), so the issue of their removal should require our involvement."

On the issue of price hike of petroleum, the finance minister said the issue was discussed with IMF.

"We did not mention any specific time-frame to increase the price of petroleum," Mr Muhith told the reporters.

"We will adjust the fuel prices at a suitable time. What we feel is --- the appropriate time for price hike of petroleum is the winter season," the finance minister elaborated.

News: The Daily Financial Express/Bangladesh/4th-Dec-12