Desk News: The banking sector in Bangladesh is undergoing reforms and is swiftly recovering, assured the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur. In an SMS message sent on Thursday, September 12, he urged the public to have faith in the ongoing reforms and to continue regular banking activities without concern.

In the message, the Governor stated that significant reforms have been initiated in the banking sector, and progress is being made rapidly. He called on customers to maintain trust and confidence in the banking system.

On Wednesday, September 11, Bangladesh Bank formed a six-member task force to oversee the reforms in the banking sector. This task force will focus on amending relevant financial laws, assessing the sector’s assets, loans, risks, and real financial conditions. It will also propose reforms to modernize the sector and release a comprehensive white paper on the banking industry. The task force will be coordinated by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank.

The members of the task force include Dr. Lutfey Siddiqui, Special Envoy for International Affairs to the Chief Advisor; former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Muhammad A. (Rumi) Ali; Chairman of BRAC Bank, Mehriar M. Hasan; former Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, Dr. Zahid Hossain; Professor Dr. M. Zubaydur Rahman, Vice Chancellor of ZNRF University of Management Science; and Sabbir Ahmed, Partner at Huda Vasi Chowdhury & Co.

Bangladesh Bank has stated that the primary goal of the task force is to safeguard financial stability by evaluating the current financial status of the banking sector, identifying bad assets, assessing key risks, and reviewing the financial indicators of weaker banks. The task force will also evaluate loan quality, determine any shortfall in provisions, assess liquidity, calculate net capital, and establish the true value of assets. Additionally, it will oversee measures to isolate the bad assets of troubled banks for resolution.