No political appointments in financial sector: Khosru

No appointments in the financial sector will be made on political considerations despite intense pressure, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said today.

Instead, competent and skilled individuals will be appointed, he said at a programme organised to mark the silver jubilee of the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) in Dhaka.

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Addressing the capital market, he instructed the ICB to transform itself into a fully market-oriented, competitive and professional institution.

He also emphasised the need to modernise the country's capital market and financial sector.

Referring to the intense pressure, the minister said, "There is a lot of pressure on me. You know that when a party comes to power after 17 years, there will be pressure. I am also under a lot of pressure."

He added that many people wanted to sit on various boards or become chairmen, but none of that had been done, nor would it be.

"This is the decision. Final," he said.

"Politicisation of the financial sector cannot be allowed. We are not making political appointments to any bank or financial institution, and we will not do so. This is the conscious decision, the conscious decision of this government."

Highlighting recent developments in the capital market, he pointed out that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) had already been reconstituted, with the commission's chairman and four commissioners being completely outside political influence.

"I can assure you. I know the chairman from his home district, Chattogram. I got acquainted with the others after their appointments. And this is exactly what we want," he added.

Masud Khan, chairman of the BSEC; Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, finance secretary; and Nazma Mubarak, secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, also spoke at the event.