SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) addressing at a press conference in Dhaka on October 4. Photo: BBN
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - A total of 21 central bankers of Ghana, Nepal and Nigeria are now in Bangladesh aiming to promote sustainable finance through sharing experience with local bankers and stakeholders.
A three-day meet on sustainable finance with delegates from these countries central banks began in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday to facilitate sound environmental and social practices by banks.
Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, are jointly organizing the event to share experiences in environmental and climate financing among the participates.
"We’re delighted to share our experience in environmental and climate finance, policy development and implementation with other member- countries to help them develop and improve their own policies and create a greener future,” SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of the BB, told a press conference at the central bank headquarters in the capital Wednesday afternoon.
Green finance presents a huge opportunity to deliver on the Paris accord and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Bangladesh is a signatory, according to the deputy governor.
He also said the learning event will use a mix of lectures, presentations, and site visits, where delegates will learn about international sustainable finance principles in banking operations and witness firsthand how financial sector and businesses are responding to the sustainable finance efforts by the central bank of Bangladesh.
The central bank of Bangladesh is one of the founding members of the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) and a pioneer in promoting sustainable finance.
The BB has already updated its environmental-and social risk-management guidelines for banks and financial institutions.
“It is considered a model for emerging markets’ regulators embarking on a similar journey as the Bangladesh Bank has an all-round approach with policies, procedures, tools for managing E&S risks and regulations, funds, product categorization for promoting green finance in Bangladesh,” Mr. Sur Chowdhury explained.
The participating three countries are also members of the SBN - an IFC- supported global knowledge platform for financial-sector regulatory agencies and banking associations from the emerging markets.
Established in 2012, the SBN membership has reached 31 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East collectively covering an estimated $42.5 trillion in banking assets.
“We’ve already introduced 'Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management (ERM) for Banks and Financial Institutions in Bangladesh that will come into effect from January 1, 2018,” the BB deputy governor said in reply to a query.
He also said the guidelines on ERM have been a pioneering initiative from any central bank or financial-sector regulatory body all over the globe in context of addressing environmental risk in the process of credit management in banks or financial institutions.
The IFC had provided technical supports for formulating the guidelines on ERM, the deputy governor added.
Among others, Johnson Pandit Asiama, deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana, Shiba Raj Shrestha, deputy governor of the Napal Rastra Bank, Aisha Usman Mahmood, special advisor to the governor on sustainable banking of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Afifa Raihana, senior environment specialist, environment, social and governance department of the IFC, spoke on the occasion.
The delegates are scheduled to visit a commercial bank and an apparel factor today (Thursday).
They will also share their experiences with the members of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) tomorrow (Friday).
BBN/SSR/AD