Dhaka, Jan. 22 -- The country's banking sector remains under severe structural stress and meaningful reform cannot be achieved within a short time frame, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said on Thursday.

"The banking sector is definitely challenging. Institutions have been weakened, laws are often ignored and in many cases owners themselves control management, bypassing prudential norms," he said while speaking at MTB-FE Roundtable on 'Banking sector reforms' at a city hotel.

The adviser said the challenges facing the sector are deep, complex and institutionalized and the problems accumulated over the past 15 years cannot be fixed in 14 to 16 months.

He said Bangladesh Bank has operational autonomy but full independence is nei...