Bankers asked to comply with govt directives to face new challenges

The central bank Governor Fazle Kabir at a programme on Saturday identified inflation, forex market volatility and negative trade balance as some of the key economic challenges.
Keeping this in view, he urged the banking communities to act on the government directives to face the challenges.
The governor also expected the country would successfully cope with the present economic challenges as it tackled the challenges emerged from Covid-19 pandemic.
"We (the country) became first (in the region) to cope with the challenges induced by Covid-19, similarly we shall be the same for economic challenges," he said.
He came up with the view as the chief guest of a scholarship distribution ceremony organised by Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited (AIBL) at the Officer's Club in the city's Baily Road area.
Chairman of the AIBL Board of Directors Alhajj Salim Rahman presided over the ceremony while the AIBL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Farman R Chowdhury made the opening remarks.
Through the programme, the AIBL will provide 200 meritorious and underprivileged students, who passed higher secondary or equal level in 2019, with financial support to continue their tertiary level of education.
"Bankers were also battling against the pandemic as front liners, similar to that of healthcare and law enforcers, to help rotate the country's economic wheel," said the governor.
"We shall cut down the import of luxurious consumer items," he said and added that the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has already issued circulars fixing margin on letter of credits (LCs).
The central bank is providing dollar support directly to the trade of food, baby food, fertiliser and energy as they made major impact on inflation, he added.
Hailing the AIBL for its scholarship programme under its CSR activities, he said the central bank advises the financial institutions to spend 30 per cent of its CSR fund for the education sector.
The BB Governor distributed certificates among some of the selected students.
Each scholarship awardees will receive Tk 8,000 instantly and Tk 3,500 per month till the end of their tertiary education.
AIBL Vice Chairman Abu Naser Md Yeahea, Directors Abdus Samad, Abdus Salam, Badiur Rahman, Mahbubul Alam, Abdul Malek Mollah, Enayet Ullah, top officials attended the ceremony, among others.
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