Bangladesh: Banks face addl cash withdrawal pressure

Branches of banks on Sunday faced customers’ cash withdrawal pressure ahead of the seven-day countrywide shutdown starting today.

The imposition of restrictions on public movement by the government to check the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted both retail and corporate clients of the banks to withdraw additional cash so that they can avoid movement during the shutdown.

Even though the banks have been asked to provide almost all sorts of banking services during the seven-day shutdown, customers were in an anticipation of further extension of the restrictions, which resulted in additional fund withdrawal by them, said bankers.

‘We have faced a huge rush at almost all of our branches and ATM booths,’ said an official of Bank Asia on Sunday.

General people are worried about the shutdown, which was the reason they preferred to keep additional cash in their hands in the crisis period, he added.

While visiting different bank branches in the capital on Sunday, it was found that bank officials were facing difficulties in handling a large number of clients in long queues in front of banks’ counters.

Most of the clients were seen withdrawing cash to meet their urgent needs.

‘We have served customers even after the transaction period as our branch faced a heavy rush of clients for cash withdrawal,’ said Mahbubur Rahman, one of the branch managers of Trust Bank, said.

He said that clients were withdrawing huge amounts of money to meet their essential needs.

Al-Amin Haowlader, a small-scale businessman, said the seven-day countrywide shutdown might be extended and that was the reason he went to the bank to withdraw cash as Sunday was the last full-fledged transaction day of the banks before the shutdown.

The Bangladesh Bank on Sunday asked all commercial banks to keep adequate cash at their branches and ATM booths to ensure unhindered services to their clients.

Various payment and clearing systems introduced by the central bank should continue for all types of deposits and withdrawals, distribution of allowance under the various social programmes of the government, remittance payments, and payment of utility bills.

Source: New Age