Bangladesh Bank waives late fees for April-May DPS, savings account instalments

Bangladesh Bank has waived late fees for falling behind on payment of April-May instalments of DPS and other savings accounts.

It has also ordered the banks not to close the accounts for the customers’ failure to deposit the money on time.

The central bank in a notice on Monday gave clients until Jun 20 to clear the payments.

The banks will have to refund any late fees charged.

Offices and public transport services have reopened after a lockdown of more than two months over the coronavirus outbreak.

Banks were open on a reduced scale and the government asked all not to go outdoors to avoid infection in this period, which led to the failure of many customers in paying the instalments, the central bank said.

The central bank took initiatives to help borrowers but did nothing for the depositors though the coronavirus crisis has affected people from all walks of life, its spokesman Serajul Islam told bdnews24.com.

It did not issue the notice earlier because it would have led many customers who could otherwise pay to miss out and subsequently create a cash crunch, he added.