New Promotion Policy Issued for Government Banks and Financial Institutions

The government has issued two separate new promotion policies for officers and employees of state-owned commercial and specialized banks, as well as financial institutions. The notifications were published on Monday (4 August) by the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.

For the first time, these policies classify lobbying or recommendation attempts during promotion processes as ‘misconduct.’

One policy has been created for six state-owned commercial banks — Sonali, Rupali, Janata, Agrani, Basic, and Bangladesh Development Bank PLC (BDBL). The other policy is for six specialized banks and two financial institutions — Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Probashi Kallyan Bank, Employment Bank, Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, Palli Sanchay Bank, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation.

According to the policies, promotions from Senior Officer up to Principal Officer (PO), Senior Principal Officer (SPO), Assistant General Manager (AGM), and Deputy General Manager (DGM) will consider educational qualifications, work performance, training, integrity, merit, satisfactory service records, and seniority. A bachelor’s degree is mandatory for promotion.

The cut-off dates for promotion eligibility are set as 31 December (for commercial banks) and 30 June (for specialized banks and financial institutions) every year.

The policies also state that an employee will not be considered for promotion if they have a negative annual confidential report (ACR) in any one of the last three years at feeder level, or if there is a pending criminal case, or if convicted in departmental proceedings. For minor punishments, promotion is suspended for one year after the sentence; for major punishments, it is two years. Promotion will also be suspended if the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) files charges or arrests the employee until the case is resolved.

The 100-point promotion evaluation includes: average ACR score 45 points, educational qualification 15, service duration 15, field experience 4, banking diploma 10, experience working in difficult areas 1, branch manager achievements 2, and interview 8 points. A minimum of 75 points is required to be eligible for promotion.

Interviews are mandatory, and any ambiguity in the policy will be resolved by the Financial Institutions Division, whose interpretation will be final.

For commercial banks, a five-member promotion committee will be chaired by the bank’s chairman for DGM promotions, and by the managing director for AGM promotions. For specialized banks and financial institutions, the MD will chair the promotion committee.

This new policy is expected to bring greater transparency, efficiency, and fairness in the promotion process of government banks and financial institutions.