BB moves to spur green banking
Bangladesh Bank (BB) is set to issue a new circular on green banking directing commercial banks to involve more in sustainable and environment-friendly operations, said the governor yesterday.
The circular is intended to include a three-stage directive, said Atiur Rahman at a workshop, Policy and Strategy of Green Banking in Bangladesh, at Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management in Dhaka.
To begin with, commercial banks will make a detailed policy on green banking approved by the board of directors of the respective banks, Rahman said.
Secondly, the commercial banks will develop a separate green policy for sectors such as agriculture, agribusiness and tannery.
Finally, they will introduce new green-banking products and report on progress to the BB in global reporting initiative format, he said.
Rahman said the central bank itself has taken environment-friendly initiatives in its operations and BB is the only central bank in the world currently using power-backed by solar energy.
To combat adversities in agriculture due to climate change, the governor said, BB has already issued necessary directives in agriculture/rural loan policy for 2010-11.
“BB also directed the commercial banks to examine the environmental protection mechanism of any industry while disbursing loan to that enterprise,” he added.
Stressing online banking or paperless banking, the BB chief said it would be the best way of doing banking in a sustainable manner.
Representatives from different banks and the teachers of BIBM attended the workshop where dedicated papers on green banking were presented.
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