This chapter provides an analysis of the structure of the banking sector in Bangladesh, different performance indicators of the banking sector, the trend in NPLs, and efficiency levels of private banks. It also explores the politics of the banking sector and avenues of governance failures in relation to private commercial banks in Bangladesh. This poor performance of the banking sector is related to the low quality of the sector’s lending operations. Through regulatory and policy capture, political patronage often leads to unproductive loans, or simply loans that bankers know will never be repaid. Also, cases of embezzlement through legal insider lending – that is to the bank’s owners or their family – have been reported. NPLs, and the frequent need for monetary injection in state-owned banks or bailouts of private banks, are the manifestation of these governance failures of the whole sector. This chapter emphasises key reforms needed in the governance of the sector which include autonomy of the central bank, modification of the Banking Companies Act and strict adherence to it, and political commitment to penalise loan defaulters.

This chapter provides an analysis of the structure of the banking sector in Bangladesh, different performance indicators of the banking sector, the trend in NPLs, and efficiency levels of private banks. It also explores the politics of the banking sector and avenues of governance failures in relation to private commercial banks in Bangladesh. This poor performance of the banking sector is related to the low quality of the sector’s lending operations. Through regulatory and policy capture, political patronage often leads to unproductive loans, or simply loans that bankers know will never be repaid. Also, cases of embezzlement through legal insider lending – that is to the bank’s owners or their family – have been reported. NPLs, and the frequent need for monetary injection in state-owned banks or bailouts of private banks, are the manifestation of these governance failures of the whole sector. This chapter emphasises key reforms needed in the governance of the sector which include autonomy of the central bank, modification of the Banking Companies Act and strict adherence to it, and political commitment to penalise loan defaulters.

The potential of AI solutions to enhance effective decision-making, reduce costs, personalise offers and products, and improve risk management have not gone unnoticed by the financial industry. On the contrary, the characteristics of AI systems seem to perfectly accommodate to the features of financial services and to masterly address their most distinctive and challenging needs. Thus, the financial industry proves to provide a receptive and conducive environment to the growing application of AI solutions in a variety of tasks, activities, and decision-making processing. The aim of this paper is to examine the current state of the legal regime applicable in the European Union to the use of AI systems in the financial sector and to reflect on the need to formulate principles and rules that ensure responsible automation of decision-making and that serve as a guide for widely and extensively implementing AI solutions in banking activity.

The purpose of this chapter is to describe how corporate governance mechanisms have been used to promote sustainability in Brazil. A few initiatives and regulations connect the sustainability and corporate governance agendas in Brazil, particularly in the securities market and banking sector, where most progress is found. Brazilian financial and non-financial companies still do not fully recognise that the overarching purpose of the sustainability agenda is to ensure a safe operating space for humanity, given that the progress observed is mainly driven by economic factors, such as the mitigation of socio-environmentally risks related to financial and reputational damage and the attraction of foreign investors. Despite the progress observed in recent decades, the chapter concludes that fast or deeper developments should not be expected in the near future due to the strong political influence of agribusiness interests.