Photo: Collected

DHAKA, April 28, 2026 (BSS) – Bangladesh Bank (BB) today allowed scheduled banks to provide an incentive bonus of up to one month’s basic salary to their officers and employees for special achievements even if some previously set criteria are not fully met.

The central bank issued the directive, aiming to boost employee motivation and encourage a competitive work environment in the banking sector.

The new instruction supplements earlier guidelines issued in BRPD Circular No-12 on December 9, 2025, while keeping all other provisions of the previous circular unchanged.

According to the directive, banks will be allowed to award the bonus subject to three mandatory conditions.

Firstly, the bank must have earned an operating profit during the year under consideration.

Secondly, the bank’s regulatory capital must not have declined compared to the previous year. However, any reduction resulting from deferred provisions earlier approved by Bangladesh Bank will not be treated as a decrease.

Thirdly, the bank must not have sought any new provision deferral facility from the central bank.

The directive came into immediate effect, enabling bank boards to recognize exceptional performance of employees while ensuring financial discipline and maintaining adequate provisioning standards across the sector.