Finance, Forex and Investments

Do u think commercial banks should be permitted to produce their own currency in competition with Bank Negara?

In Malaysia, the government through Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is the only bank that is permitted to create and issue the currency. Do you think the commercial banks (i.e. Bumiputra Commerce, Maybank, etc) should be permitted to issue their own private bank notes in competition with Bank Negara?

Public Comments

1. They would not be issued in competition but under the direct supervision of the national bank (Bank Negara), which, technically at least, oversees the monetary supply as part of the government's overall financial policy. That responsibility would remain with them, regardless of who actually issues the physical notes and coins. It is not a good idea to return to the days when some banks were licenced to produce "personalized" banknotes (as is still true in Scotland and Northern Ireland I believe) with the result that no-one actually knows what the currency is really supposed to look like. A multi-currency system would be purely for decoration and serve no useful purpose at all.