Bangladesh’s CB Chief elected chairman of Asian Clearing Union

Dhaka (Reuters) - The Central Bank Governor of Bangladesh was elected Chairman of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) on Saturday, a group of nine central banks who signed up to a joint payment system that processed $ 20 billion worth of transactions in 2014.

The appointment marks the first time Bangladesh takes on the year-l

ong chairmanship since the ACU was founded in 1974, Central Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said at governors’ meeting in Dhaka.

The union, which was set up on a UN-initiative, facilitates monetary transactions between central banks with less exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, as well as clearing payments between member countries.

The other ACU member countries are Bhutan, Iran, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Its headquarters are in Tehran.

Rahman said he wanted other countries like Thailand, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and other CIS countries to join the ACU and that he would try to encourage intra-regional trade between member countries.