BB chief thinks double-digit growth possible
ET Report

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman has said attaining double-digit growth is not impossible for Bangladesh.
He said the efforts that the central bank had initiated, especially loans for sharecroppers, bank accounts for farmers with a minimum deposit of taka 10, spread of SME banking, e-commerce and mobile banking could all significantly contribute to the country's growth.
Speaking at a workshop on inclusive banking, the governor said: "Bangladesh will become a model for inclusive banking within two or three years if these activities are properly implemented....Businesses will boom."
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, president of Bangladesh Economic Association, which organised the workshop on inclusive banking, commended the central bank's recently published half-yearly policy statement, which the governor announced as an 'inclusive' monetary policy.
"It will expand banking services, investment will rise," the economist said.
The governor, however, expressed his concern on the slow spread of banking services in the rural areas citing that more than 40 percent of the population was still under the poverty line.
He suggested that more private banks should come forward by opening their branches in remote and under developed areas to serve more customers still out of banking services.
More than 25 percent adults in Bangladesh are still out of the reach of formal banking amid massive spread of micro-finance, he added.
Citing that the country's total bank deposits stand at over taka 2.5 lakh crore, the governor said they should extend their hands to the masses.
He also said the SME sector needed to be highlighted since it was contributing a great deal to the country's economy and was an important tool for employment generation.
"SMEs have generated 58 percent of the country's total employment," he said.