BB bullish about 2016

The economy will experience a quantum jump to a new phase of 7 percent growth rate or more in 2016 if the current political stability persists, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman.

“The economy performed pretty well in 2015 despite initial political stopover in January, and it picked up momentum in the later months. All macroeconomic indicators remained upbeat,” he told The Daily Star.

While summarising the performance of the economy, Rahman termed the foreign exchange stability stunning.

He said the exports and remittances picked up in the later part of the year, and both the rates of interest and inflation are moving downward. 

The export development fund has gone up to $2.5 billion, as foreign currency reserves crossed $27 billion, equivalent of nearly eight months' import bill.  Increased supervision has helped improve the banking sector significantly, supported by greater digitisation, the governor said.  “Governance in the financial sector has improved significantly due to heightened BB intervention,” he said, adding that non-performing loans came down to single digit and the spread has come down to below 5 percent. 

The banking sector, which is already under the Basel-III regime, will witness further consolidation in its capital base and return, Rahman added.  “We are indeed looking forward to a prosperous 2016.”