BB boss gets UK mag award

A British magazine has named Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Dr. Atiur Rahman Central Bank Governor of the Year in the Asia Pacific region.
Chief Editor of The Banker Brian Caplen presented the award at a ceremony held at the House of Lords in London Friday, the central bank said in a statement Saturday.
The UK's magazine, affiliated to Financial Times, had earlier selected the BB governor as the recipient of the award from the region for his contribution to the successful maintenance of macroeconomic stability in the country.
The ceremony was chaired by Lord Sheikh while among others Baroness Uddin and Rowshanara Ali MP attended.
Lord Sheikh said: "Dr. Rahman is a worthy recipient of this award. The award is a clear recognition of his remarkable contributions towards empowering poorer segments of the population."
He also applauded the gains made by the Bangladesh economy where the BB governor played a strategic role.
"What impressed the editors with Dr. Rahman's performance was not only what we expect from a central bank governor such as controlling inflation and ensuring stable economic conditions, but also his unique and interesting ideas which contributed to social good in Bangladesh," The Banker chief editor said.
He particularly appreciated farsighted, courageous, and regulatory decisions of the central bank chief.
The award giving ceremony was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Asia Editor of The Banker, Stefania Palma.
"In the global economy today, clouds of deflationary gloom are deepening; directionless pumping of liquidity by quantitative easing is yielding little in sustained growth optimism while heightening instability risks for the global economy," the BB governor said while receiving the award.
Dr. Rahman also said a deliberate directional bias channelling financial flows towards inclusive financing of environmentally sustainable domestic demand-driven output initiatives including those of farm and non-farm SMEs is the only way forward for restoring global output growth back on a sustained stable growth path.
Bangladesh high commissioner to the UK Abdul Hannan said the BB governor made a critical balance between the monetary and fiscal policy.
"Dr. Rahman has effectively internalised the vision of social inclusiveness," Mr. Hunnan said.
Ms Ali said: "Atiur Rahman's work has quite effectively demonstrated how central banks can play a key role in promoting socially responsible financing."
She also said that Bangladesh can be a role model of inclusive socio-economic development for the rest of the world.
"Bangladesh is obviously a success story, and this recognition indicates that the country is doing really well," Baroness Uddin said.
Amongst others leading bankers, economists, politicians, and media personalities were present at the ceremony.
In November last year, the BB governor Dr Rahman received the "GUSI Peace Prize International 2014" award for his contribution to establishing peace by reducing poverty in Bangladesh.
Dr. Rahman also received the "Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque for 2011" for his contribution to international cooperation towards human progress.
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