United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday announced that all scheduled banks will remain closed on March 18 as the government declared the day a public holiday through an executive order on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. However, some bank branches in key industrial areas will remain open on a limited scale on March 18 and 19 to facilitate the payment of salaries, bonuses and allowances for garment workers. The central bank’s Supervisory Data Management and Analytics Department (SDAD) issued a circular in this regard. It said bank branches related to the garment industry in several industrial hubs will operate under a special schedule. The areas include Dhaka metropolitan area, Ashulia, Tongi, Gazipur, Savar, Bhaluka, Narayanganj and Chattogram. In these branches, office hours will be from 10:00am to 2:00pm while banking transactions will take place from 10:00am to 1:00pm. The central bank also directed banks to keep branches, sub-branches or booths located in seaports, land ports and airports operational to facilitate import and export activities. Bangladesh Bank announces banking timings for Ramadan These branches may continue limited operations from March 17 to March 23, excluding the day of Eid, during public and weekly holidays in coordination with the local administration and customs authorities. The circular, signed by SDAD Director Md Abdul Mannan, said officials and employees working during the holidays will receive allowances in accordance with existing rules.

All banking transactions and trading activities at the country’s two stock exchanges will remain suspended on Tuesday (July 1) due to a Bank Holiday. As per the Bangladesh Bank’s annual holiday calendar, July 1 and December 31 are designated as Bank Holidays, observed for the purpose of closing and finalizing yearly financial accounts. All on these two dates—marking the beginning of the fiscal year and the end of the calendar year—scheduled banks across the country suspend all customer-related transactions. Internal  administrative activities will continue at bank headquarters and key branches. No financial liability for banks in contract-based imports: Bangladesh Bank The central bank and other commercial banks will not conduct any transaction or customer-facing activities during the holiday, though limited services such as ATM withdrawals will remain available. Due to the dependence of stock trading on banking transactions, both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) will also suspend trading on Tuesday.