Bangladesh Bank today extended the banking hour by half an hour and decided to keep banks open from 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. from Monday (May 24) until May 30.
However, the branches will remain open until 4 p.m. to complete their regular procedures.
The central bank took the decision after the government extended the nationwide restrictions on public movement until May 30 to curb the second wave of the Covid-19 infections, local media reported.
Banks have been following the rostering system for their employees since Apr 14 as per the instructions of the banking regulator and the government.
The government enforced lockdown-like controls from Apr 5 after the Covid-19 infections rate and death tolls began rising alarmingly.
As the situation worsened, it went for a strict countrywide lockdown from Apr 14.
The government, however, has recently started relaxing the restrictions on movement.
