He made the remarks while speaking to journalists at the bank’s head office on Thursday, 4 June.
According to sources, the Conscious Customers’ Forum had staged a procession in Dhaka on Wednesday, calling for the resignation of the bank’s chairman. During the demonstration, the forum urged bank officials to observe a one-hour pen-down protest on Thursday.
Following that call, some officials at various branches reportedly took part in the protest. However, no one was willing to speak publicly on the matter. There were also complaints that customer services were disrupted at several branches.
Addressing the situation, Altaf Hossain said the bank had not instructed staff to suspend services. He said officials remained committed to serving customers, but the head office could not immediately monitor activities at every branch.
Responding to concerns over rising cash withdrawals linked to the movement, he said it would be impossible for any bank to function if all depositors withdrew funds at once. He added that while withdrawal pressure had increased slightly due to the situation and other factors, it remained manageable.
He stressed that there was no reason for panic. If a serious liquidity problem had emerged, he said, it would have been clearly visible.
