Amid a swirl of rumours that he would be replaced, Bangladesh’s central bank governor, Ahsan Mansur, abruptly and unceremoniously left his post this week.
In stepping aside, Mansur leaves an economy in the throes of instability and a legacy that may come to be remembered less for its attempts at high-minded fiscal reform than for its hypocrisy and continuation of a politics-as-usual that has long-plagued Bangladesh.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Mansur shared that he walked off the job after seeing news that his time at the Bangladesh Bank would come to an end. When asked about sorting out the formalities, he said, “I will do that later”.
It’s the kind of remark which neatly summarises Mansur’s tenure at the bank’s helm. Since his appointment, he has done away with so many of the central bank formalities in the name of “reform” that it’s difficult to keep track.
Despite claims of bringing the economy to heel, the Bangladesh Bank oversaw a period of macroeconomic instability, a widespread and potentially illegal targeting of banks and businesses, all while failing to achieve its largest policy aims. No surprise then that Mansur exited the bank under the shadow of protest.
Earlier, a group of the central bank’s employees protested at the bank’s headquarters and accused Mansur of “authoritarianism”. Mansur snapped back that the protestors represented a “vested quarter” trying to sabotage his reform efforts and derided other bank officials with cries of “conspiracy” and “propaganda”.
A long-time employee of the IMF, Mansur found himself heading up the central bank after the country’s age-restrictions on the governorship were lifted to permit him to serve. Granted a four year term by then-Interim Government head Muhammad Yunus, Mansur, like Yunus, rode in on a wave of assumed technocratic expertise, good intentions, and neutrality that was meant to do away with asymmetric politics.
But the belief that the Interim Government was truly neutral was quickly undone when it outright banned the country’s oldest political party under restructured anti-terrorism laws. Mansur too lost claims to neutrality when he directed what could broadly be described as a politically-motivated purge.
Under his guidance, board members of banks were abruptly tossed from their posts for perceived ties to the aforementioned political party and saw some of their positions filled by Bangladesh Bank appointees. Some of the country’s largest business groups were similarly targeted and have had to beat back accusations of wrongdoing. Mansur also oversaw the forced merger of several banks, again under the guise of necessary reforms. Despite protests from several of those banks’ officials, the central bank charged ahead with the merger and has since had to inject millions in liquidity while thoroughly undoing shareholder confidence.
Again, all this from an appointed official of an unelected government. It comes as no surprise then that the BNP’s move may point to the fact that their confidence in Mansur has similarly been undone. The governor had, after all, been routinely criticised for his frankness which some feared undermined public confidence.
Throughout his tenure, questions over potential conflicts of interest had grown. When he tried to push through a digital banking license for a private bank he used to chair, the attempt was derided as “desperate and undemocratic”. And while Mansur routinely criticised Bangladesh’s elite for investing money abroad, he was caught up in a row over questions relating to ownership of a Dubai apartment in which his name appears on the property documents.
Now, Tarique Rahman and the BNP have a difficult road ahead of them. The appointment of Mostaqur Rahman to lead the Bangladesh Bank marks a new and optimistic chapter. One can only hope then that the efforts they pursue provide greater stability and clarity to the country brimming with potential.
