ZCZC
BSS-22
BB-MONETARY POLICY
BB announces monetary policy for H2
DHAKA, Jan 30, 2019 (BSS) – The Bangladesh Bank today announced the monetary policy for the 2nd half of the current fiscal year (January-June) downsizing the private sector credit growth target to 16.5 percent.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Fazle Kabir announced the monetary policy at the Jahangir Alam Conference Hall of the central bank.
The fresh monetary policy, however, increased the public sector credit growth target to 10.9 percent. In the previous monetary policy for the first half of the current fiscal year (July-December), the credit growth target was fixed at 16.8 percent for the private sector while at 8.5 percent for the public sector.
The new monetary policy, declared based on the overall successes of the monetary policy and financial policy for the 1st half, apparently did not witness any major change apart from the slight change in the credit growth target.
Deputy Governor SM Moniruzzaman, Bangladesh Bank change management consultant Allah Malik Kazmi, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) Chief Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan, Banking Reform Adviser SK Sur Chowdhury, Economic Adviser M Akhtaruzzaman and other senior officials were present.
The BB Governor said, “No major change has been brought in the monetary policy for the 2nd half due to the overall success of the monetary policy and financial policy for the 1st half.”
He said it would be a time befitting measure to formulate simple rules and regulations for realizing term-based financing for the small and medium enterprises and many South-East Asian countries have already introduced such rules and regulations.
The fresh monetary policy also kept unchanged the Repo and Reverse Repo interest rates at 6 and 4.75 percent respectively. while the large currency supply growth has been set at 12 percent.
The central bank usually announces the monetary policy twice a year — in January and in July – in a bid to keep the inflation rate in control alongside keeping balance for attaining the desired GDP growth rate.
Through announcement of the monetary policy, which is very much important for the financial management of the country, the central bank highlights a plan for a six-month period about the probable situation of domestic credit, currency supply, domestic resources and foreign resources.
BSS/ASG/Trans/RI/GM/BR/1805