BML's card limits against talks; u-turn on MMA aid: Govt
However, the spirit within the bank later changed and BML suddenly came to a decision, Saeed said.
Bank of Maldives (BML) on Sunday temporarily banned debit cards and new credit cards issued to Maldivian Rufiyaa accounts to carry out foreign transactions in violation of discussions with the government, the government ha said..
The bank changed its decision Sunday evening to allow the central bank, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), to assist BML in raising foreign exchange.
Economic minister Mohamed Saeed told a news conference at the President's Office Sunday evening that the economic council and BML had decided not to change the card limits despite the difficulty in obtaining dollars. However, the spirit within the bank later changed and BML suddenly came to a decision, he said.
According to Saeed:
-
President Mohamed Muizzu wanted BML to make it easier for Maldivian students studying abroad to get dollars
-
The president asked the bank not to act in a way that would stop small businesses from getting the dollars they need
-
But the bank's decision ended up going against what BML had discussed and agreed
"When the card limitation was introduced, it was not done in the most appropriate manner. There are students studying abroad. There are small businesses that were not considered," Saeed said.
"The bank did it when the president had directly told them not to do it."
Saeed said the MMA has already assured that it will plan more ways to provide dollars to the bank in the future to address the dollar shortage. The government will take necessary steps to increase foreign exchange circulating in the bank, he said.
"We can already do what the bank says. It's not something we can't do. We gave that assurance to the bank," Saeed said.
He said BML reversed the change after the bank's own shareholders, such as tourism tycoons Hussain Afeef and Mohamed Moosa agreed to do so. They also wanted to bring about that change for the sake of the people, he said.
Finance minister Mohamed Shafeeq told the press conference that September is a month when dollar availability declines every year. Noting that this is not new in Maldives, Shafeeq said the dollar supply will increase in November, December and January.
"This is not a surprise. The problem will improve with the season," he said.
Foreign minister Moosa Zameer also said that BML's decision was not discussed. He said the bank had not consulted the government adequately.
