Bangladesh Bank has restructured the forthcoming holiday schedule for all scheduled banks across the country in light of the upcoming Sharadiya Durga Puja, balancing religious celebrations with essential financial operations. According to a circular issued by the central bank on Sunday night, commercial banks will remain closed for three consecutive days, from 20 to 22 October 2026, to observe the largest religious festival of the Hindu community.
When combined with the regular weekly weekend on Friday, 23 October, and Saturday, 24 October, financial institutions will experience a continuous five-day closure. To mitigate the operational disruptions and backlog caused by this extended break, the monetary authority has cancelled the scheduled weekend holiday on Saturday, 17 October. Consequently, all scheduled banks across Bangladesh will operate under normal working hours on that day to facilitate public and commercial transactions ahead of the festivities.
Signed by Md Abdul Mannan, Director of the Central Bank’s Financial Sector Support Division, the directive aligns with an earlier notification published by the Ministry of Public Administration on 7 October. The adjustment seeks to ensure adequate liquidity and banking access for businesses and consumers before the prolonged shutdown commences.
Recognising the critical nature of international trade and logistics, the circular highlights continuous arrangements for port and trade hubs. Under the provisions of a previous directive issued on 5 August 2019, bank branches and service booths situated in maritime, land, and airport port areas—including customs zones—must maintain limited import and export operations throughout the entire holiday period from 20 to 24 October. Local bank management has been instructed to coordinate with port, customs, and local administrative authorities to implement appropriate staffing and security arrangements during these days.
The central bank invoked powers vested under Section 45 of the Bank Company Act, 1991, to issue this order in the public interest. The measure aims to safeguard economic stability while accommodating national religious observances.
