Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder on Wednesday said that lack of corporate governance and non-performing loans were the burning issues in the banking sector now.
Enforcing prudent guidelines and strong rules for top management like chief executive officers of banks is the only way to solve the NPL problem in the country, he further said.
He made the comments as the chief guest at a two-day summit organized by the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) titled "Banking on Digital Transformation" at Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital.
"We need to bring in cultural changes and enforce ethics and good practices in the banking sector. So training and proper education should be offered to the workforce," Talukder said.
Default loans in the banking sector increased 16.8% year-on-year to Tk120,656 crore in 2022.
Bangladesh Bank is emphasizing digitalization of the existing system and soon it will introduce a digital bank in the country, he said.
The central bank is also planning to introduce an online and real-time based credit scoring system very soon, he said.
"We are very close to issuing our own national debit card," he said.
Banks worldwide are now embarking on a digital transformation journey in response to customers' demand for greater convenience and Bangladeshi banks are no exception, said Selim RF Hussain, chairman of ABB.
The two-day event brought together more than 150 participants from Bangladesh's 46 commercial banks, aiming to explore the digital transformation journey of the banking industry in the country.