Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank is providing an enabling environment for cost efficient off branch financial services delivery aiming to achieve inclusive economic growth through strengthening financial inclusion programmes across the country, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said on Wednesday
“Our policy support consists mainly of low cost refinance lines in modest amounts from within the parameters of cautious price stability focused monetary programmes,” the central bank chief said while addressing at a IMF-JICA conference on 'Frontier and Developing Asia: Supporting Rapid and Inclusive Growth' held at JICA Research Institute in Tokyo
“In Bangladesh we took up efforts of setting motivations right in our financial sector at the onset of global financial crisis; beginning with a CSR mainstreaming initiative eventually developing into a sustained thrust of ingraining an institutional ethos of socially responsible inclusive, environmentally benign financing,” Dr. Rahman explained.
He also said all banks and financial institutions in our financial sector, local and foreign, state owned and private, have responded positively with enthusiastic engagements in inclusive and green financing initiatives.
He also said this has helped uphold domestic output and domestic demand amid global growth slowdown during and following the global financial crisis.
“Aided by this inclusiveness in financing, Bangladesh economy is on a sustained stable six-plus percent average annual real gross domestic product (GDP) growth spell for well over a decade now; alongside low and declining inflation, rising income driving faster poverty decline, and solid gains in external sector viability,” the BB governor noted.
The conference was jointly opened by JICA President Akihito Tanaka and IMF Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Naouki Shinohara opened the conference jointly, the central bank of Bangladesh said in a statement in Dhaka.
Director General of the Ministry of Finance of Japan Masatsu Asakawa and many Asian Governors of Central Bankers and Finance Ministers also took part the conference.
Besides MA Mannan, State Minister of Finance and Planning of Bangladesh, senior secretary of commerce and ambassador of Bangladesh in Japan were present at the conference.
“Going forward, success in sustainably propping up global output growth with inclusive financing of SMEs and other under-served segments of economic activities will hinge importantly on reorienting the institutional ethos of mainstream global commercial banking towards socially responsible inclusive, environmentally benign financing,” the BB governor said.
With this needed culture shift, commercial banks and other financial institutions will be assessed not just on the basis of financial returns, but also duly taking into account the positive or negative outcomes in social and environmental returns, Dr. Rahman added.
BBN/SSR/AD-18Feb15-1:40 pm (BST)