Dhaka: The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and a delegation from the World Bank Group recently convened to explore the feasibility of establishing a Mortgage Refinance Company (MRC) in Bangladesh. The primary aim of the MRC would be to expand housing finance and enhance the country's capital market.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the meeting took place at the BSEC Commission Meeting Room and was chaired by BSEC Chairman Masud Khan. Present at the meeting were BSEC Commissioners Tanwir Habib Rahman, CPA, Nahid Mahtab, Md Nafeez Al Tarik, CFA, FRM, and Hossain Sadat, FCS, along with Executive Director and Spokesperson Md Abul Kalam, Executive Director Mohammad Jahangir Alam, and other officials from relevant departments. Representatives from the World Bank Group also participated in the discussions.
The focus of the meeting was to assess the feasibility of establishing the MRC, the institutional structure it might adopt, and its potential role in developing Bangladesh's housing finance and capital markets. The participants deliberated on how an MRC could contribute to the enhancement of the primary mortgage market by offering long-term refinancing facilities to financial institutions. There was also a discussion on the potential for mobilizing resources from the capital market to bolster housing finance.
The proposed institution could provide financial institutions with access to longer-term funds for mortgage lending, thus aiding the expansion of housing finance in Bangladesh. The World Bank Group is conducting the feasibility study as a response to a formal request from the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance.