Abdur Rouf gets 'D' grade as governor: Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has received a 'D' grade as the governor of a central bank, according to a recent global report.

The Global Finance Magazine grades the world’s leading central bankers on a scale of A to F, with A being the highest grade and F the lowest, based on objective and subjective metrics. Their report - Central Banker Report Cards 2023 - is graded by the magazine's editors, with input from financial industry sources.

Regarding Abdur Rouf Talukder, the magazine's report further says, "For Bangladesh Bank (BB), as with many other central banks in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), the mandate was reasonably met during the first half of the review period.

"Post-Covid GDP growth was solid at 5.6 per cent, while inflation modestly overshot BB’s 5 per cent target by 0.6 per cent and the taka was steady."

The report adds, "However, by mid-2022, the taka was devalued by 9.5 per cent; importers struggled with an onshore shortage of dollars; energy and food costs ballooned due to the Ukraine conflict; and inflation ran rampant.

"Having burned through central bank foreign exchange reserves, a call went out for International Monetary Fund (IMF) support. But the structural weakness of the Bangladeshi economy and the government’s 60 per cent control of the central bank produce a vulnerability to externalities such as the inflation shock of 2022. "

In this year's 'report card,' India's central bank governor Shaktikanta Das received an 'A+' grade, while Pakistan's Jameel Ahmed received the grade 'C-.'

Judgments in the report are based on performance from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. A governor must have held office for at least one year in order to receive a letter grade.

An algorithm supports consistency of grading across geographies. The proprietary formula factors in monetary policy, supervision of the financial system, asset purchase and bond sale programs, forecasting and guidance, transparency, political independence and success in meeting the national mandate (which differs from country to country.)

/KN/