Banks get 7 months to verify staff certificates

Bangladesh Bank has asked all scheduled banks to verify the educational certificates of their officers and employees within seven months, following repeated cases of questionable recruitment and forged qualifications in the banking sector.

The central bank issued a circular in this regard yesterday, requiring banks to complete verification of the academic credentials of all existing employees by March 31, 2027.

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The move also tightens recruitment procedures. Banks must publicly advertise entry-level vacancies and select candidates through competitive examinations and interviews.

New recruits’ latest educational certificates must be verified within one year of joining.

The directive comes amid allegations that some banks recruited employees without properly checking educational certificates or qualifications and, in some cases, without issuing public job circulars or holding competitive examinations.

Banks must publish vacancies for entry-level posts such as management trainee officer, senior officer, probationary officer, junior officer and trainee cash officer on their websites or job portals and in at least two national newspapers.

Candidates for these positions must sit for a written or online test followed by an interview, with appointments made based on the competitive process.

For senior employees recruited from another bank or financial institution, at least an interview will be mandatory.

A recruiting bank may rely on the previous employer’s certificate verification only if the release order clearly identifies the certificates that were checked. Otherwise, it must conduct its own verification.

Under the new rules, banks must verify an employee’s latest academic certificate directly with the issuing university, education board or other relevant authority.

Any certificate submitted later for promotion, confirmation or other employment benefits must also be verified, with records kept in the employee’s personal file.

If a certificate is found to be fake, the bank must take disciplinary or administrative action and record the case in the Corporate Memory Management System (CMMS).

Introduced by Bangladesh Bank in 2019, the CMMS is a shared system intended to prevent employees removed from one bank for misconduct from securing jobs at another bank without disclosure.

Bangladesh Bank has also ordered banks to formulate or update comprehensive human resources policies covering recruitment, probation, training, performance assessment, promotion, transfers, succession planning, termination, leave, code of conduct, conflict of interest, whistleblower protection, grievances, disciplinary procedures and anti-harassment measures.

Bank boards must adopt the updated HR policies by March 31, 2027.