Bangladesh Bank has won the Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) Country Award 2015 from Asia and the Pacific region.
The recognition came due to “massive financial inclusion activities, particularly in the area of school banking.”
Last year, Singapore won the award.
The award was officially handed over by Valerie Georgina Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland, OBE, a British politician and member of the House of Lords, at the 4th Annual CYFI Awards Ceremony, held at the House of Lords in London on 10 December 2015.
On behalf of Bangladesh Bank, Executive Director Md Abdur Rahim received the award, according to a press release on Friday.
CYFI is a Europe-based global network of 36m children and youth across 125 countries that works for enhancing the financial capabilities of children and youth.
Under the broader head of Financial Inclusion, Bangladesh Bank has been promoting rapid expansion of financial services, particularly for the excluded and underserved, to improve inclusive economic growth in Bangladesh.
The government has also been fully supportive of financial inclusion strategy of the central bank, the statement said.
Launched in 2010 with a circular from Bangladesh Bank, school banking has emerged as one of the core components of the financial inclusion programmes of the central bank.
Students can now open bank accounts with an initial deposit of only Tk100 with no charges applicable on such accounts.
