Mamun Rashid

The turmoil in the banking sector is on the rise. A lack of good governance, rampant corruption, and political and managerial interference in management have led to this scenario. As the prices of daily commodities are on the rise, people are focusing less on new savings and on the contrary, using their prior savings to meet their daily needs.

When I attend a banking forum, junior bank executives often ask me: “What did I learn out of so many credit inspections across the world? How could we avoid loan losses?”

Our importers and institutions, those that need to remit various fees and surplus earnings outside the country, are facing challenges with foreign currency (FCY) payments for the last several months.

When I joined ANZ Grindlays Bank in the mid-eighties from a local bank, it was more to do with the social prestige the British legacy bank commanded in this part of the world. When I joined Standard Chartered in mid-1993, it was repositioning an erstwhile lousy bank. 

Bangladesh has made gradual progress in reducing some constraints on foreign direct investments (FDIs). However, many feel a lot needs to be done when it comes to improving the ease of doing business here.  

Hundi might be informal, but it is quite well-organised and more importantly, it is perceived to be much easier and more convenient in comparison to the formal banking system.  

The Bangladesh Bank capped the interest rate on loans at 9 per cent and on deposits at 6 per cent for banks, and 11 per cent on loans and 7 per cent on deposits for non-bank financial institutions.  

Digital transformation is the process of embedding technologies across businesses to drive fundamental change. Starting a digital transformation journey also requires a new mindset. It is a chance to reimagine how companies do things, often from the ground up. 

Whether it is semi-controlled or self-censored media, corridor discussions or even Transparency International Bangladesh reports, we have been hearing about corruption in the public enterprises and inaction by the subsequent governments for the last many years.  

Compliance with the ESG standards is not going to be an option soon for business enterprises functioning even in developing countries like Bangladesh. But as Bangladesh

Traditionally, natural gas has been the primary source of energy in Bangladesh. For the last few years, domestic gas production has been declining and we have started importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the excess demand.  

Despite diverse challenges, the banking sector is evolving faster than ever before, and such changes are expected to happen even quicker in the coming years.

Although our banking sector itself is lagging behind its neighbouring peers, the story of the non-banking financial institution (NBFI) sector is rather much more precarious.

Let me start by thanking the central bank for its recent circular on the foreign currency cash holding limit. This should help us not to dollarise our economy and face the fate of Cambodia, where a lot of people have forgotten their local currency’s name over the years.  

There is possibly no denying that in view of a very weak opposition along with a not-so-active parliament, some above-average and reasonably honest civil bureaucrats have taken command of the country’s policy regime.

Out of my 26 years with three global banks, I spent more than half of it in treasury dealing room environment in Dhaka, Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and New York.  

Like in any other developing country, all public interest projects in Bangladesh are supposed to be well thought out with their ultimate impacts reviewed. However, courtesy of the media, even the state investigation agencies, we mostly don’t get to hear good things about projects being well-researched, the ultimate impact on the target market or group well-thought out, finance being well-managed or done with sincerity of purpose. 

Before delving into the matter of blue bonds, it is important to briefly understand the “blue economy” itself. Blue economy is a term in economics which relates to the preservation and exploration of the marine environment.

Sovereign debt, which is usually in the form of securities, is issued by a nation’s government to borrow money and may also be referred to as government debt, public debt, and national debt. This borrowing is done for a variety of reasons, from financing public investments to boosting employment.

In March 2020, when governments around the world announced lockdowns and quarantine to prevent the spread of a contagious disease, no one could anticipate what would happen. Covid-19 changed the order of businesses in such a disruptive manner that it made even long-established corporations rethink management practices and how to do business in this new reality.