Urging banks to proactively come forward for long-term lending in the infrastructure sector, Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Dr Atiur Rahman on Saturday said the central bank is working with the government towards putting in place pension savings schemes.
The central bank governor was addressing the inaugural session of an international seminar titled 'Banking in Bangladesh: The Leap Forward' at Radisson Hotel in the city, organised by Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) with its chairman Ali Reza Iftekhar in the chair, UNB reports.
Dr Atiur informed that the new pension savings schemes will be launched for general citizenry, including NRBs, alongside the existing pension and provident fund schemes for formal sector employees.
The BB chief also pointed out that massive financial instruments are planned to be launched for investment promotion and bankers have to take challenges to deal with them in proper manner.
"The ball is now on your court to rise up to the challenges of absorbing and investing the oncoming massive new volumes of financing resources," he told the bankers.
He said the new instruments will be inclusively for all productive initiatives, large and small, of all population segments of the society.
He informed that Bangladesh Bank has lined up a World Bank-funded $300 million longer term local lending instrument.
"Another $200 million longer term lending from BB's own resources is being lined up to support green transition of export-oriented textiles, apparels and leather sectors."
He further said the government and the central bank have given IFC the go-ahead for their issuance of Tk denominated bonds up to USD 1.0 billion, proceeds of which will be used in longer term lending to projects in Bangladesh.
"These initiatives will mean a massive transformation in access to funds for our financial sector over the near and medium term," said the governor.
He mentioned that the central bank has been proactively driving necessary enablement initiatives for the banking sector like leading a countrywide massive modernisation of the payments system and the financial sector IT infrastructure, including BACH, BEFTN, NPS, NID based e KYC, and most recently the RTGS.
