60pc adults now under financial services, says BB chief

The country has made significant progress in financial inclusion in the recent years, with the bringing of 60 per cent of adult population under basic financial services, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman has said.

Moreover, the coverage of basic financial services from banks and other financial institutions are now expanding rapidly with introduction of mobile financial services and agent banking, he has added.

The governor was speaking on Financial Inclusion and Combating Terror Financing at the 7th Annual G24/AFI Policymakers Roundtable on Financial Inclusion at the IMF headquarters in Washington DC on Wednesday, according to a BB press release issued in the city on Thursday, reports BSS.

Commenting on the initiative of combating money laundering and terror financing, Dr Rahman said like other countries the remittance inflow to Bangladesh is allowed only through official channels under full CDD (Customer Due Diligence) and AML/CTF (anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing) surveillance.

The governor, however, expressed concern that disproportionate application of standards might drive away the customers to more informal channels, which might be counterproductive to AML/CTF compliance.

Referring to the de-risking banking sector in some advanced economies by closing down accounts of remittance intermediaries, the BB governor said such action was greatly limiting the overall progress of financial inclusion activities.

He advised that the risks of money laundering and terror financing could be further minimised by establishing effective linkage of the surveillance chain.