The Road Ahead: Sustainability of Bank Reforms

Abstract

The objective of any banking reform is to enable citizens to have wider access to credit and financial services in an efficient and sustainable way. Any other focus of reforms can only be short-term, tentative, or otherwise misguided. In a developing country where growth has been anaemic, and the average citizen cynical and impatient due to the inability of past governments to fulfil their promises, the success of a reform effort will depend on the transparency of the reformer — to prove that there is no hidden agenda — and on an ability to demonstrate a long-term road map to galvanize public interest. On the other hand, if the reform effort is largely dependent on the charisma or personality of the reformer — be it the president or the governor of the Central Bank — achieving reforms can be volatile, laborious, and often discouraging.