Bangladesh banks to close Oct. 20-24 with port exceptions

Scheduled banks across Bangladesh will close Oct. 20-24 for Durga Puja and weekly holidays, Bangladesh Bank said in a circular issued Monday.

The holiday period includes Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 20-22, for Durga Puja, followed by Friday and Saturday weekly closures. Banks will open Saturday, Oct. 17, under their regular schedules, The Business Standard reported.

The circular also directed banks at seaports, land ports, airports, and customs areas to maintain essential operations through arrangements allowing branches and sub-branches to operate up to seven days a week.

Those branches may coordinate with local administrators and port or customs authorities to provide services, particularly for imports and exports, during holidays.

The central bank’s Supervisory Data Management and Analytics Department sent the instructions to leaders of all scheduled banks.