Published: 11:56 PM, 30 October 2026
Disorder in state-owned banks feared over giving top posts to private sector officials
Tensions loom large in Janata and Agrani banks over recent nominations of two private bank executives as managing directors of the two state-owned commercial banks.
Being surprised by that decision of the Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the ministry of finance, executives of the dual banks expressed their fear that it might put the bank into trouble further in the form of noncooperation to the proposed top executives coming from the private banks.
The correspondent recently visited several branches of two banks and talked to the bankers of different levels of the banks. But they agreed to share their views and thoughts over hiring private bankers to run public banks on condition of not disclosing identities to avert regulatory actions.
Raising question over the rationality of the FID's decision, a Janata Bank official said the nominations have triggered dissatisfaction among employees at different levels of state 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 MD.
"I don't know why private bankers agreed to join as the managing director in public banks sacrificing more than half of their current salaries. This is very surprising," he said.
The bank official 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 director before retirement. But that opportunity is now being taken away," he said.
"I don't think the recently hired MDs could long last because of the tensions among employees in the bank. And there is a huge distance between private and public banks," he said.
Another banker who spent more than 20 years in public banks sai such appointments could create disorder within state-owned banks. Officials may not readily accept an MD coming from outside. That could ultimately hurt the bank.
He added that an outsider would also need considerable time to understand the bank's operations, financial condition and internal dynamics, potentially limiting the effectiveness of the appointment, which could be embarrassing for the government.
He said the FID's decision of hiring private bankers in public banks is not a smart one. It could create instability in the public banks that are under stress due to nonperforming loans (NPLs) buildups.
The experienced banker suggested the government to withdraw the decision of hiring private bankers in public banks to avert possible trouble in the government-run banks.
When contacted, economist Md Mazedul Haq said the decision to appoint private bankers as top executive in public banks was a wrong one because running public banks is much more challenging than the private banks.
He said an officer in a state-owned bank becomes a general manager (GM) after maintaining all the required processes and qualifications. But in private banks, the board can promote someone through various systems. "In my opinion, appointing a deputy managing director (DMD) of a private bank as the managing director (MD) of a state-owned bank was not right. They will not be able to run the bank properly."
Earlier on October 28 last at the inaugural session of Annual Banking Conference by Bangladesh Institute of Bank Managment (BIBM), former adviser to the interim government Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud criticised political influence over state-owned banks, saying such institutions had often been used to distribute political patronage.
"Using the banking or financial sector for political patronage is absolutely inappropriate," he said, adding that the Bangladesh Bank should have equal authority over state-owned and private banks.
