A joint technical assistance mission of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank recommended establishing聽a unified Debt Management Office in Bangladesh to strengthen the country鈥檚 public debt management framework and reduce fiscal and operational risks.
According to a press release, the proposal was presented at a workshop titled 鈥楨stablishing a Debt Management Office鈥�, held on Monday at the Finance Division at the capital鈥檚 Bangladesh Secretariat.
The Scheme on Strengthening the Capacity of the Treasury and Debt Management Wing of the Finance Division, under Strengthening Public Financial Management to Enable Service Delivery, organised the workshop.
The mission said that Bangladesh鈥檚 current debt management functions were fragmented across multiple government agencies, resulting in coordination gaps, inconsistent debt data, and challenges in formulating and executing a comprehensive debt management strategy.
Moreover, there was an absence of a centralised, audited debt database and a formal cash flow forecasting mechanism, which were essential for guiding informed, cost-effective government borrowing.
In the keynote presentation, the mission proposed consolidating all government and government-guaranteed debt functions under the Finance Division, beginning with the restructuring of the Treasury and Debt Management Wing.
In the initial phase, the proposed DMO would oversee domestic debt issuance, develop annual borrowing plans, coordinate auction calendars, undertake portfolio risk assessments, and build a unified debt database by integrating existing systems and data repositories, the press release added.
The mission also emphasised the need for a clear legal framework to define borrowing authority, accountability, reporting responsibilities, and transparency standards.
To ensure professional execution, the mission recommended specialised staffing for the DMO, particularly personnel experienced in capital markets, pricing, settlement operations, and risk management.
It noted that such expertise could be sourced from the Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks, and the capital market.
However, to retain skilled professionals, the government would need to introduce competitive compensation and career development pathways.
The experts also stated that, over the medium term, the DMO could evolve into a more autonomous entity with expanded functions, including oversight of contingent liabilities and management of investor relations.
International experience, presented during the workshop, showed that many countries shifted to centralized DMOs since the 1980s to reduce borrowing costs and risks, strengthen fiscal transparency, and improve the separation between debt management and monetary policy operations.
The mission also highlighted that successful DMOs generally operate through three core units鈥攆ront office (borrowings and market transactions), middle office (risk and strategy), and back office (settlements, data administration, accounting, and reporting).
The mission concluded that establishing a DMO would require strong political commitment, phased restructuring, investment in modern IT systems, and sustained coordination across government institutions.
Once operational, the unified DMO is expected to enhance market confidence, lower financing costs and risks, and reinforce Bangladesh鈥檚 long-term fiscal stability, the release said.
Md Hasanul Matin, additional secretary of the Finance Division, attended the workshop as the chief guest.
Special guests included Ziaul Abedin, additional secretary and National Program Director of SPFMS, and Hasan Khaled Foisal, additional secretary, Finance Division.
The session was presided over by Mohd Rashedul Amin, joint secretary of the Treasury and Debt Management Wing.
The IMF鈥揥orld Bank mission was led by Arindam Roy, a senior financial sector expert, who included Jens Clausen, Philip RD Anderson, and Per Jonsson.聽
Expert opinion was also made by Md Monzorul Haque, joint secretary of the Finance Division, and Abu Daiyan Mohammad Ahsanuallah, joint secretary of the Economic Relations Division.