Curbing inflation, financial sector stability to get top attention: Dr. Mansur on becoming BB governor

Staff Correspondent: Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, newly appointed governor of Bangladesh Bank, has said his priority will be to check the high inflation and restore stability in the financial sector.

Expressing satisfaction over his new responsibility Dr. Mansur told UNB on Tuesday night that he will work with all stakeholders in the financial sector to bring back stability and put it on a solid foundation.

On Tuesday night the interim government’s law ministry hurriedly waved the age limit of 67 years for anyone to be appointed as governor of the central bank. Economist Mansur is now 72 years old.

The last time the age limit provision got amended from 65 years to 67 years was in July 2020 to accommodate the reappointment of then-governor Fazle Rabbi.

He believed that despite high inflation – it hit 11.66 in July in a 13-year high- the central bank under the previous administration did not give full attention to curb it. Controlling inflation remains a top priority for any central bank.

However, money supply, exchange rate stability, and inflation control all depend on the decision of the governor.

Besides, the standard of living, international trade, investment, and employment depend a lot on the decisions of the central bank of any country, he said.

Dr. Mansur started his career as a lecturer, at the Department of Economics, Dhaka University in 1976. He left for Canada for higher studies in economics the same year. As a graduate student and research assistant, he was also offering regular economics courses at the undergraduate level at the University of Western Ontario, Canada (1978-81).

Dr. Mansur joined the International Monetary Fund under its Economist Program in 1981 and thereafter completed his PhD in Economics (on general equilibrium analysis) from the University of Western Ontario in 1982.

During his long career at the IMF, he worked in Middle Eastern, Asian, African, and Central American countries. He worked in important functional departments (Fiscal Affairs and Policy Review and Development departments) and area departments (Middle East and Central Asia and Asian departments) of the IMF.

He also served as the IMF Senior Resident Representative to Pakistan from 1998-01 and as the Fiscal Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Government of Bangladesh (1989-91).