Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon has said that the government will undertake reforms, changes and improvements in the banking sector, adding that there is “no alternative” to such measures.
“If we can talk about reforms in the media sector, commissions and anti-corruption administration, then why not reform such an important sector as banking? We will do it,” he said.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled ‘Good Governance and Role of Media in the Banking Sector’, organised at the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) office in Paltan, Dhaka, on Sunday (June 7, 2026).
The event was attended by Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Director General Dr Md Ejazul Islam, Policy Exchange Bangladesh Chairman Dr Masrur Riaz, Professor of Banking and Insurance at the University of Dhaka Dr Md Mashiur Rahman Zahid, and United Commercial Bank Managing Director and CEO Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid.
The programme was chaired by ERF President Daulat Akhter and conducted by General Secretary Abul Kashem. The keynote papers were presented by Samakal Special Correspondent Obaidullah Rony and Prothom Alo Senior Reporter Sanaullah Shakib.
Swapon said that good governance in the banking sector is not an isolated issue. He noted that unless overall governance in the country’s political process and state institutions is ensured, discipline in the sector cannot be achieved through media presence alone.
He also said that in the past, data manipulation and fraud were used to turn state statistics into political tools, where “the ruling class changed statistics for its own needs.”
