No pressure under interim govt: BB

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur has said he carried out his responsibilities during the tenure of the interim government without facing any pressure or interference from the government or any other quarter.

Speaking to journalists on Monday after announcing the monetary policy, the governor said he enjoyed full operational independence during his time in office.

“Throughout my tenure under the interim government, I did not experience pressure from any side. There was complete operational freedom and no interference
whatsoever.

I can say this without any hesitation,” he said. However, Ahsan H Mansur expressed disappointment that several key legal reforms proposed by the central bank were not implemented despite being submitted in due time.

One of the most important among them was the Bangladesh Bank Order.

“In October, the Bangladesh Bank Order was sent to the Ministry of Finance for finalisation. Although there was sufficient time, it could not be implemented.

This must be considered a failure, because it should have been done,” he said.

He also referred to the Bank Company Act as another crucial piece of legislation that remained unimplemented.

“This is an extremely important law. We believed the current government would be able to implement it, but that did not happen.

Therefore, we hope that whichever government comes next will honour the commitments to financial sector development outlined in their election manifesto,” he added.

The governor said these unresolved issues would be formally placed before the next government, emphasising that their implementation is vital in the national interest.

He warned that failure to carry out the reforms could lead to a recurrence of past abuses in the banking sector.

“If these reforms are not implemented, the misuse and plundering of the banking sector that we witnessed earlier could return.

The Bangladesh Bank Order needs to be implemented as a permanent safeguard. Central banks across the world are protected in this way,” he said.

Ahsan H Mansur also drew a clear distinction between political priorities and the role of a central bank.

“Politicians tend to focus on boosting the economy in the short term, while a central bank’s responsibility is to ensure sustainable and disciplined economic development.

This is evident in countries like the United States. When political pressure does not influence the central bank, economic discipline is preserved,” he said.

He cautioned that although some progress has been made, economic discipline has not yet been fully restored, and losing it again would be unfortunate.

On foreign exchange management, the governor said Bangladesh Bank had purchased $4.5 billion from the market, injecting more than Tk50,000 crore into the economy.
“These purchases have helped build up foreign exchange reserves.

Are we dependent on the IMF? No. Even in building reserves, the central bank is not dependent on the IMF,” he added.