With great anxiety, bank staff come to work every day

In the first 10 working days of every month, the Agrabad branch of state-run Sonali has to give financial services to at least 2,000 to 3,000 clients, some of whom are pensioners or beneficiaries of the government's social safety net schemes.

The branch has to give the same services to at least 1,000 clients on the remaining working days of the month.

And the number of clients has even not decreased during the ongoing shutdown enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus.

"Rather, the branch staff have faced a tremendous rush of clients in recent days as the central bank has order shorter transaction hours of 10 am to 12.30 pm," said a senior official of the bank requesting anonymity to speak candidly on the matter.

Banks earlier did the same transaction until 4 pm.

"There's a rush of clients now. This makes maintaining social distance in the branch premises tough," he added.

Sonali, the country's largest bank in terms of its banking volume, has 1,224 branches across the country, and all are open.

The lender provides 37 types of financial services under the government social safety net and other programmes.

Asked whether the bank management supplied personal protective equipment (PPE) to their employees, he said only those who handle cash got it.

Sonali's cash officials are luckier than the staff of other banks as only a few got the protective suit.

But as per the Bangladesh Bank's instruction, banks have supplied masks, gloves and hand sanitisers to their employees.

"PPEs should be provided on a priority basis," said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, an immediate past chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh, a forum of the private banks.

There are about 11,000 branches of 60 banks operating in the country, of which nearly 50 per cent are open to help keep the wheels of the economy moving.

An official of Southeast Bank's Dhanmondi branch said at least 30-40 customers now gather in front cash counters when normally 10-15 would come at once.

The central bank should extend the window for cash-related transactions to avoid the mad rush, he said.

Clients should play their due responsibility as many of them are not using debit cards, said Rahman, also the managing director of Mutual Trust Bank.

"Rather, they send their gatekeepers and drivers to the banks to withdraw money by using cheques. They now use a cheque to withdraw only Tk 10,000-15,000, which is illogical," he added.

Another reason many banks have kept all their branches open is that not all lenders have introduced online banking.

One such lender is Bangladesh Krishi Bank, which opens all 1,038 branches every day amid the movement control order.

Bank branches in lockdown areas are also open, creating a risky situation for the employees. Dhaka Metropolitan Police has put about 54 areas under lockdown, while the respective local administrations took the same measures for at least 31 districts.

More than one dozen employees of 10 banks have so far tested positive for COVID-19.

The number of infected employees will increase drastically if safety measures are not taken promptly, said a private bank employee.

Not all of them have their own transport and have to rely on public transport to get to work. This leaves them exposed to the lethal pathogen that thrives on hard surfaces.

Only a few have provided transport facilities to their employees, said a good number of officials of different banks.

Factoring in the risks on their lives, the BB yesterday instructed banks to provide an incentive to those who are working during the shutdown.

Bankers will get a month's basic salary as a special incentive if they work at least 10 days during the shutdown, while contractual staffs will enjoy 65 per cent of their salaries.

The special incentive will range from a minimum of Tk 30,000 and a maximum of Tk 100,000 a month during the lockdown.