BNP believes in central bank autonomy: Amir Khosru

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) believes in central bank autonomy, but it also thinks that granting independence to the banking watchdog alone will not be enough to solve the sector's problems, said Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, standing committee member of the BNP.

Along with the central bank, the capacities of other financial sector institutions also need to be strengthened, he said.

"No matter how much independence we grant, if we cannot develop the capital market and implement necessary reforms, the pressure on the central bank will remain," he said at an event in Dhaka today.

The event, titled "The Imperative for Central Bank Independence," was organised by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) with support from UK International Development (UKID).

Major reforms in the financial sector took place during the BNP government, said the former commerce minister.

"We did not make any political appointments anywhere. We even abolished the Financial Institutions Division under the finance ministry, but the succeeding government reinstated it," he said, referring to the dual regulation in the banking sector.

Sadiq Ahmed, vice-chairman of PRI, delivered the opening remarks, while Ashikur Rahman, principal economist at PRI, presented a paper at the discussion.