Top leaders of two forums of the banking sector are set to meet Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Fazle Kabir today (Wednesday) to discuss the BB's latest instructions on minimum salary of entry-level bank officials.
The leaders of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) may raise the possible impact on the banking sector after implementation of the notification issued by the central bank on January 20.
"We'll discuss the central bank's latest circular regarding salary of entry-level officials and employees of banks at the meeting," Qazi Akramuddin Ahmed, chairman of Standard Bank Limited, told the FE on Tuesday, without elaborating.
The BAB and ABB's latest moves came against the backdrop of raising different opinions from different quarters regarding the possible impact of the implantation of notification on the banking sector.
They said the announced salary structure will help minimize the gap between higher- and lower-level employees of banks, particularly private ones.
But the central bank should not set the salary structure of private banks, they added.
Sources, however, said the new policy on the single-borrower-exposure limit might be discussed at the meeting.
Talking to the FE, a BB senior official said the central bank had already issued a clarification to avoid misunderstanding about the circular.
"We had discussed the issues with the bankers and asked them to enhance the salary structure of their entry-level officials," he noted.
All the scheduled banks have been asked not to terminate any employee due to their failure to achieve the target of deposit mobilization.
The banks also will not be allowed to either postpone the promotion or ask their employees to resign if they fail to achieve the target, according to a notification issued by the BB on Tuesday.
The central bank issued the notice in clarification to a previous circular released on January 20.
"Misleading information is circulated from different corners by explaining the central bank' notice partially. This has hampered the implementation of the circular, which is not expected at all," the BB said in the latest notification.
The central bank in its previous circular did not mention anything to lay off the non-performers or giving them promotion, it added.
The BB did not impose any embargo on banks to take action against the employees who breach the banking rules and regulations.
The central bank of Bangladesh, for the first time, fixed a minimum salary-wage of Tk 28,000 for banks' entry-level assistant officers/trainee assistant officers during their probation period. After the probation period, the gross salary-wage of the entry-level officers would be Tk 39,000.
The BB also mentioned that the opening salary of support staff, messengers, cleaners, security guards, or equivalent positions, should be Tk 24,000.
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