BRPD Circular Letter No. 57: Precautionary measures to ensure safety of the business centers and other establishments of banks

Bangladesh Bank Chief Controller's Office Motijheel, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh. Ref No.: BPRD Banking Policy and Regulation Department 16 Poush 1431 BRPD Circular Letter No.-57 Date: ------------------- 31 December 2024 Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer All Scheduled Banks Operating in Bangladesh Dear Sir, Reference is invited to BRPD Circular No. 07 dated 05 July 2015, BRPD Circular Letter No. 17 dated 21 May 2023, and other related circulars/circular letters issued on the subject, regarding the adoption of precautionary measures to ensure the safety of banks' business centers and other establishments.

2. Recently, significant loss of life, property, and important documents has occurred due to fire incidents in various parts of the country. In such circumstances, the following instructions must be followed by scheduled banks to prevent fires at their business centers and all other establishments:

2.1. Banks shall strengthen the security arrangements of their business centers and other establishments. If necessary, banks shall appoint specific experts/institutions to assess deviations in the bank's security arrangements and provide recommendations through experts/institutions.

2.2. Banks shall take the following measures to prevent fires by testing whether smoke and heat detection systems, fire alarms, and fire suppression systems are operational:

2.2.1. Operationalization of smoke and heat detection systems and fire alarms;

2.2.2. Installation of fire hydrants, sprinkler heads, and fire extinguishers;

2.2.3. Organization of fire suppression drills/exercises and local awareness training; and

2.2.4. Taking measures in accordance with the recommendations of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department or expert institutions after inspection of fire suppression systems.

2.3. Special security measures must be taken at sensitive locations of the bank (such as the safe room and important departments including the IT section of the Head Office), and important locations of the bank's Head Office and branch offices must be kept under CCTV camera surveillance.

3. Furthermore, advice is given to follow the directives distributed in BRPD Circular No. 07/2015, BRPD Circular Letter No. 17/2023, and other related circulars/circular letters appropriately to ensure the safety of banks' business centers.

Yours faithfully, (Mohammad Shahriar Siddique) Director (BRPD) Phone: 9530252