Bank officials cannot use company vehicles for personal work: BB

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has directed officials of all banks not to use company vehicles for personal work in a move to reduce fuel consumption by 20%.

The central bank issued a circular in this regard and sent it to the managing directors of all scheduled banks on Monday (5 September).

Besides, bank officials have been instructed to avoid using air conditioners beyond capacity, unnecessary electrical appliances such as geysers and electric kettles to reduce electricity consumption by 25% or more. 

According to the circular, such directives have been issued with the aim of cost-saving in the face of price hikes in energy, food and essential commodities globally due to the economic shock from Covid-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

On 26 July, amid a fresh round of belt-tightening by the government, the Bangladesh Bank instructed banks not to buy new cars until June 2023.

Besides, banks' spending for hospitality, travel, furniture and stationery has been slashed by 50% due to the global economic situation.

Banks are not allowed to exhaust the savings accumulated by vehicle purchase postponement and 50% spending cut in other sectors either, according to the central bank notification on Wednesday.

According to today's instructions of the central bank, in the global economic context, the government has decided to suspend or reduce the operational and development expenditure in various sectors for FY2022-23. 

As part of that, it has been decided to suspend or reduce some operational and development expenses of the bank. 

According to the instructions, the purchase of all types of vehicles by the bank will be stopped for six months of this year (July to December) and the first six months of next year (January to June).

Apart from this, banks can spend maximum 50% of the allocated money on entertainment, travel, computers and accessories, electrical equipment, furniture and other miscellaneous sectors on priority basis.

Earlier, banks were instructed to reduce power and energy costs in line with the government austerity measures.