Speaking at a press conference here today after BNM released its second quarter 2024 GDP statistics, Rasheed said the central bank has acted against financial institutions that exceeded the set period for unscheduled downtime.
He was responding to MCA president Wee Ka Siong’s call for BNM to review its unscheduled downtime policy, which allows financial institutions a total unscheduled downtime of up to four hours a year and a maximum of 120 minutes an incident.
Wee had said BNM’s current policy was too lenient and called for tighter guidelines.
On Wednesday, the central bank imposed a RM4.32 million penalty on Malayan Banking Bhd and a RM760,000 penalty on CIMB Bank Bhd over their prolonged service disruptions.
Meanwhile, BNM deputy governor Jessica Chew said that while it is working towards improving banks’ capability to recover from disruptions, the possibility of these disruptions occuring cannot be eliminated entirely.
“The disruptions may occur from time to time, but what is important is the bank’s ability to swiftly recover from them,” she said.
Effect of increased wages to be seen next year
Rasheed said the effect of the newly announced salary increments for civil servants will likely only be seen in next year’s growth projection as the wage hike will only be implemented in December.
Today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that civil servants will be getting salary increments of between 7% and 15% under the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA).
The increments will be implemented in phases, with Phase 1 on Dec 1 and Phase 2 on Jan 1, 2026.
Rasheed also emphasised the importance of structural reforms to enhance the effectiveness of the economy going forward.
He highlighted that reforms implemented in the electricity, water and energy sectors have garnered positive feedback, with increased interest from investors amid better hopes of sustainable economic growth.
On the Qualified Resident Investor programme, Rasheed said it remains to be seen if the pilot project, which has seen US$1 billion enter the domestic foreign exchange market, will become permanent.
Launched in April, the QRI programme was designed to make it easier for corporations to repatriate and convert foreign currencies from overseas investments.