Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) has sent a rejoinder to a report headlined "6pc private bankers lose jobs during pandemic" published in The Daily Star on February 1. 

Here is the full text of the rejoinder of the bank:

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited did not terminate any single employee due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Neither the bank sacked any employee nor forced anyone to resign due to the crisis.

The employees who left the bank did on their own. 148 employees left their job due to better job opportunities, physical illness and family issues. Only 12 newly appointed employees were terminated on the basis of police verification report. 

We expect more responsibility from a leading newspaper in publishing report that affects the reputation of a highly contributing financial institution like Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited. 

OUR REPLY

The Daily Star report was based on Bangladesh Bank documents. 

The central bank on September 16, 2021 asked banks to furnish it with the number of employees who either resigned or faced termination between April 1, 2020 and September 15 last year. 

Banks later provided the number of their employees who left jobs during the period. 

We used the number of the IBBL's employees, who either resigned or faced termination during the period, on the basis of the central bank documents.

We stand by our report.