Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman said the removal of professor Muhammad Yunus as the chief executive of Grameen Bank (GB) won't affect the microfinance pioneer bank as the government has launched a head-hunt for a competent new CEO. "The government is in the process of appointing a capable new CEO for the Grameen Bank with the help of a search committee comprising of reputed international persons," said Dr Atiur.
He was speaking as the chief guest on Thursday at the report launching ceremony of 'Bangladesh Microfinance Review' by BRAC Development Institute (BDI), BRAC University at the BRAC Centre Inn in the city.
Professor Yunus, who founded Grameen Bank in 1983 and transformed it into the world's largest micro-lender with over eight million borrowers, 97 per cent of whom are women, was sacked unceremoniously by the central bank as the GB CEO in March.
The removal led to a protracted legal battle between Yunus and the government, prompting many to express concern about the future and the financial health of the partly state-owned bank. But the governor, however, ruled out any move to undermine the bank, saying the performance of the Grameen Bank has not been and will not be left to founder following the departure of Yunus.
"With a delegated structure of operational management the GB retains firm footing as one of the country's top three microfinance providers," he added.
The governor asked the micro-lenders to adapt to new technology and use mobile banking system in an effort to cut their bloated operational cost.
He said the government has developed draft guidelines to ensure a level playing field for mobile phone banking, aimed at achieving the country's financial inclusion targets.
Mr Atiur stressed cushioning poor households against most common types of shocks such as deaths and crop losses, which often cruelly reverse the steady gains made by hard-working men and women.
He said regulatory oversight is needed for the overall conducive environment for micro-finance.
"Bangladesh has achieved scale in microcredit in an unprecedented manner and one of the reasons it has managed to do so relates to the relatively light touch regulations that the industry faces," he said.
"We have set up the Micro-credit Regulatory Authority (MRA) to achieve this balance and we aim to strengthen its capacity to achieve these goals."

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ Aug-27-2011