Published: 12:09 AM, 27 October 2026
Top executives from private sector appointed in three state-owned banks
In an unconventional move, the government has nominated top executives in three state-owned commercial banks with two of the nominees coming from the private banks.
With the latest nominations, the government possibly for the first time in its history hired private sector bankers as managing director-cum-chief executive officer in public banks.
The Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance conveyed the nominations to the respective boards of directors through separate letters on Monday.
Simultaneously, the division within seven days has also withdrawn its previous order cancelling the remaining term of Sonali Bank Managing Director Md Shawkat Ali Khan’s contractual appointment, which surprised many in the banking sector.
Mahbub Alam, additional managing director (AMD) of Southeast Bank, has been nominated as managing director of Janata Bank, while Nur Mohammad, deputy managing director (DMD) of Jamuna Bank, has been nominated to head Agrani Bank. Nurul Huda, DMD of Janata Bank, has been nominated as the managing director of BASIC Bank, according to the letter from FID.
The government has asked the boards of the three banks to appoint the nominees on a contractual basis for three years.
Meanwhile, the government has withdrawn its earlier decision to cancel the remaining tenure of Shawkat Ali Khan, managing director of Sonali Bank.
The FID informed the Sonali Bank board on Monday that the instruction issued on October 19 cancelling his remaining tenure had been withdrawn. As a result, Shawkat Ali Khan will continue as the bank’s managing director for another year, according to the latest decision.
The latest nominations come as the government moves to fill the top management positions of six several state-owned commercial banks.
But, the FID has not yet nominated anyone for the managing director posts of Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) and Rupali Bank PLC.
However, the final nominations have triggered dissatisfaction among employees at different levels of state-owned banks, who fear that such move could effectively block the career progression of deputy managing directors (DMDs) and other senior officials who have spent years working in the state-owned banking sector and traditionally aspire to become MDs.
A senior executive of a private bank on condition of not disclosing his identity raised questions why executives drawing significantly higher salaries in private banks would be interested in taking relatively lower-paid positions at state-owned banks.
He said employees had legitimate expectations of reaching the top position after serving their institutions for many years.
“We have served the banks for years. Naturally, we expect to become managing directors before retirement. But that opportunity is now being taken away,” he said.
Another senior banker said that an outsider would also need considerable time to understand the public bank’s operations, financial condition and internal dynamics, potentially limiting the effectiveness of the appointment.
He also expressed concern that the nominated managing directors coming from the private banks might not get enough cooperation from his colleagues in the public banks. “If it happens, it would not be a good sign for the banks.”
Now, boards of the directors of the respective banks will send the nominations to the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, for its clearance or NOC (no objection certificate).
