Protesters force Bangladesh Bank deputy governors to resign

Employees of Bangladesh’s central bank who were protesting against corruption by top officials have forced several of the institution’s deputy governors to resign, according to local media reports.

“Extreme instability has started in the Bangladesh Bank as a group of nearly 200 officials and employees staged a procession demanding the resignation of the central bank governor, four deputy governors, advisers and the head of the financial intelligence unit,” newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

Reuters said the bank’s governor Abdur Rouf Talukder was not present at its headquarters in Dhaka during the demonstrations. His precise whereabouts are currently unclear.

This development comes two days after prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the country following widespread protests against a job quotas law. Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus will lead an interim government.

Prothom Alo reported that deputy governor Kazi Sayedur Rahman had written his resignation letter on a blank sheet of paper after protesters broke into his office and pressured him to resign. The other deputy governors – Nurun Nahar, Khurshid Alam and Habibur Rahman – did the same.

The Bangladesh Bank has yet to respond to Central Banking’s request for comment.

The bank held its key interest rate at 8.5% following its most recent monetary policy committee meeting in July. Inflation eased to 9.72% in June from 9.89% in May. 

Ashikur Rahman, principal economist at the Policy Research Institute, Dhaka, told Central Banking that the changes at the central bank were a direct result of Bangladesh’s ongoing political transition: “The deputy governors are accused by many of aiding the plundering of private and public banks by politically connected business groups.”

He added that the deputy governors “don’t feel that they are going to be accepted” by other bank officials because of their perceived links with these groups. 

Update, August 8: This story has been updated to add comment from Ashikur Rahman of the Policy Research Institute, Dhaka