IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, concluded its two-day Board Enhancement program in Dhaka. This highly interactive event was designed specifically for board members to deepen their understanding of future governance trends, the role of boards in strategy and risk, and to enable board members to make effective decisions.
Mr. S K Sur Chowdhury, Advisor to the Bangladesh Bank on Banking Reform, distributed certificates to the participants. He said, “Corporate Governance for the banking sector is one of the key factors that determine the health of the system and strengthens a bank’s ability to survive the economic shock.”
The program focused on three-key sessions: what does an effective bank board do, the governance of strategy, and the board’s role in risk management. It ended with a board simulation on a case study to foster discussion and draw learning experiences from high-level participants. The sessions were facilitated by Dr. Chris Pierce who has over 15 years of experience in delivering director training programs globally. He discussed some of the best practices on how boards can be effectively engaged in strategy setting and identifying key risks.
Nuzhat Anwar, Senior Country Officer, IFC Bangladesh said, “IFC with a $1.6 billion portfolio in the financial sector of Bangladesh considers good corporate governance as a critical element that helps reduce investment risk.” IFC has a portfolio in Corporate Governance of over US $43 million with 23 active projects across the globe. Working with over 1,000 companies, IFC’s dedicated corporate governance experts have provided advisory services that helped over 200 companies improve their corporate governance practices and these companies could attract capital of over 6 billion dollars. Its South Asia Regional Corporate Governance project, implemented with donor support from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, helps strengthen boards through knowledge sharing and training.
