The central bank issued a circular in this regard

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has imposed stricter conditions on incentive bonuses for bank officials and employees, stating that bonuses cannot be paid from accrued or unrealised income amid the sector's ongoing stress.

The central bank issued a notice in this regard today, stating that scheduled banks must ensure bonuses are awarded only when actual, realised profits are generated in a financial year.

Banks have also been barred from paying bonuses from retained earnings, while institutions with regulatory capital shortfalls or provision shortfalls will not be allowed to issue any incentive payments, according to the notice.

Any deferment facility granted on provisioning cannot be counted while calculating profits, it said.

The central bank further instructed that banks must evaluate improvements in key performance indicators and demonstrate adequate progress in recovering classified or written-off loans before deciding on any incentive payments.

For state-owned banks, the newly approved Incentive Bonus Guidelines 2025 will be applied, covering state-owned commercial banks, specialised banks, and non-scheduled specialised institutions.

Bangladesh Bank issued the directive under Section 45 of the Bank Company Act, 1991.