Bankers to get promotion even if deposit target missed, BB clarifies

The Bangladesh Bank, clarifying the salary structure for bankers, on Tuesday said bankers would not be sacked or deprived of benefits if they failed to meet their deposit collection targets.

At the same time, the central bank directed banks to ensure that its officials are not forced to resign or sacked on unfounded allegations of incompetence.

The Bangladesh Bank came up with the clarifications in a circular issued amid recent criticism over its new pay scale for bankers.

According to the circular, the issues described in the previous circular regarding bankers' salaries were not properly analysed and the misleading interpretations were interfering with banks' compliance with the new pay scale, the BB said, adding, this was not desirable.

The regulator said that the circular had not said that incompetent employees could not be laid off, nor did it say that incompetent or less skilled employees had to be promoted.

In the latest clarifications, the BB said if specific allegations could be proven against any employee, then there was no restriction in the subsequent administrative action by the banks based on their own rules.

Earlier, the central bank fixed a minimum salary of Tk39,000 for private bank officials subject to the completion of their probationary period.

According to the notification, the minimum monthly salary for trainee assistant officers (general and cash) will be Tk28,000 during their probation period.

Also, office assistants, including security guards, cleaners, and messengers, will get Tk24,000 minimum.

The BB also asked banks not to deprive their employees of promotion even if they fail to achieve business targets.

It also said banks cannot fire employees on the grounds of inefficiency or force them to resign, further instructing that business targets are not set for employees.

Industry experts said the central bank circular would encourage banks to treat both efficient and inefficient employees equally instead of incentivising skilled manpower – which will have a severe impact on the banking business.

However, the BB asked banks not to consider performance in case of annual increment.

The central bank has issued the notification recently, which will come into effect from next March.