Mamun Rashid

My own act of resistance was small. It came in the form of a tiny pebble thrown at a military jeep passing through our town.

For more than forty years, Bangladesh has carried a remarkable story of economic transformation. A country rooted in agriculture built one of the world’s most influential apparel industries through grit, discipline and a willingness to learn. The label “Made in Bangladesh” travelled across continents because workers and entrepreneurs believed they could do something bigger than their circumstances. That belief helped reshape the national economy and identity.

Bangladesh has lost one of its most enduring builders. M Matiul Islam, the country’s first finance secretary and a pioneering figure in the nation’s economic architecture, passed away on November 20 at the age of 95.

Though I spent my banking life with foreign banks, I was mostly half-hearted about knowing the courtroom performance of local lawyers. Many were seen arriving without having done enough homework before defending their clients.

While at PwC, we implemented many CBS (core banking system), ERP (enterprise resource planning), CRM (customer relationship management), data analytics or technology transformation projects at various enterprises or banks. While our clients focused on smooth implementation by engaging our cross-border or the best of local resources, senior regulators or bureaucrats often used to ask us why we engaged so many cross-border technology experts and why we did not pursue joint business relationships or rely more on local firms. The hard truth was that we often had to engage cross-border resources because there was an identified shortage of trained local technology project implementation teams or firms.

I became a credit signatory at ANZ Grindlays Bank in 1992. At Standard Chartered Bank, I had to clear all fourteen modules of the Credit Skills Assessment (CSA) by OMEGA London to qualify as a proper risk manager. At Citibank N.A., apart from my long experience in corporate banking and loan restructuring, I also needed cross-border audit exposure to even be considered for the Senior Credit Officer (SCO) designation.

Retail banking in Bangladesh is entering a moment of reckoning. With the Bangladesh Bank (BB) preparing to issue digital banking licences, and with more organised mobile financial services, AI and platform technology becoming mainstream, it is no longer enough for a bank to be a place where peop

What would have happened if we had lost the 1971 war?

Nearly two years ago, the Bangladesh Bank issued a letter of intent (LOI) for licensing two digital banks. The process later proved flawed, and the recipients were seen as personally favoured.

I went to my village home a few weeks ago. My uncle, a veteran of the 1971 Liberation War, does not mind paying extra to secure a job for his graduate son.

The Economist once credited effective cash management, also known as transaction banking, as a key reason for Citigroup’s survival during the global financial meltdown in 2008. Citi’s global transaction services earned a lot of recognition for helping the bank manage its assets and liabilities more efficiently.

Across the world, bank mergers or acquisitions are supposed to create added synergy. In our part of the world, however, they are often undertaken out of necessity.

We must learn to protect ourselves from scams.

When the numbers turn red, you feel it before you see it. The office grows quieter. Conversations stop when you walk by.

Thanks to Bangladesh Bank, especially Governor Mansur, I was invited to join the large loan restructuring scrutiny committee set up by the central bank in collaboration with the finance ministry and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). Several departments of the central bank also took part regularly.

The financial services industry stands at a decisive moment.

Bangladesh has a money problem. Not the kind where the government cannot pay its bills, but the kind where there is simply not enough capital flowing into the country to fuel real growth.

Future CEOs should combine financial prudence with tech and data

My first real exposure to credit came when I joined ANZ Grindlays corporate banking in the early nineties. Later, as head of restructuring and recovery at Standard Chartered during the Asian financial crisis, I faced the reality of what happens when loans turn sour.

In today’s fast-changing environment, internal audit is no longer a back office function. It is central to how organisations manage risk, protect value and sustain growth.