Banks to Close for 4 Days for Election and Referendum

All scheduled banks and financial institutions in the country will remain closed on February 11 and 12 (Wednesday and Thursday) on the occasion of the upcoming 13th National Parliament Election and Referendum to be held on February 12.

Bangladesh Bank's Supervisory Data Management and Analytics Department (SDAD) and Financial Institutions and Markets Department (DFIM) recently announced the holiday through separate notifications.

The central bank has taken this decision in view of the executive order of the Ministry of Public Administration to ensure the exercise of the right to vote by voters and maintain normal order during the election period. After the general holidays of February 11 and 12, banking and financial transactions in the country will remain closed for 4 consecutive days as Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays on February 13 and 14 respectively.

Bangladesh Bank's SDAD notification stated that all scheduled banks have been instructed to remain closed on February 11 and 12 under the powers vested in Section 45 of the Bank Companies Act, 1991. Similarly, the DFIM notification said that all financial institutions will remain closed on those two days under the powers conferred under Section 41 (2) (d) of the Financial Institutions Act, 2023.

The central bank has already sent formal instructions to the managing directors and CEOs of all scheduled banks and financial institutions in the country in this regard. As a result, customers will have time until Tuesday to complete their urgent banking work.

The Ministry of Public Administration had announced in a notification on January 25 that a general holiday will be in force on February 11 and 12 across the country on the occasion of the upcoming elections and referendum. The main purpose of this holiday is to provide an opportunity for officials and employees of all levels of government and private sector to exercise their right to vote by going to the polling stations.

Since banks and financial institutions are directly involved in the transactions of the general public, the announcement of the holiday is seen as very important for these institutions. Banks have been advised to keep ATM booths and online banking services operational so that the daily shopping and transactions of the general public are not disrupted during this 4-day long holiday.

To avoid any negative impact on business transactions due to the long holidays, many customers are trying to complete their urgent check clearance and LC related tasks in advance. However, even though the banks are closed, internet banking, MFS (bKash, Rocket, Nagad) and point of sales (POS) services will continue to operate regularly, according to the relevant bank sources.

Banks and financial institutions will resume their regular operations from Sunday, February 15. Economists have also advised customers to keep sufficient cash with them before this long break caused by the elections.