B Mirror Report: Economist Sadiq Ahmed has resigned from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bangladesh Bank.

On Wednesday (March 4), Bangladesh Bank informed the other members about his resignation. However, no official explanation has been given regarding the reason behind his decision.

Following his resignation, a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee scheduled for the day was postponed.

Sadiq Ahmed currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Policy Research Institute (PRI). He previously worked as a senior official at the World Bank.

After his resignation, the current members of the committee are: Governor and Chairman of the committee Md. Mostakurr Rahman, Deputy Governor Md. Habibur Rahman, Chief Economist Md. Akhtar Hossain, Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) A.K. Enamul Haque, Chairperson of the Economics Department at Dhaka University Ferdousi Nahar, and Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Mahmud Salahuddin Naser.

Sources said the meeting was expected to discuss reducing the policy interest rate in light of high inflation. The policy rate currently stands at 10 percent, and there was a proposal to cut it by 0.25 to 0.50 percentage points (basis points) to help lower lending rates. Although the new governor had expressed a positive view on the matter, the meeting was suddenly postponed.