Economy Correspondent: Following an instruction of the Cabinet Division, the Bangladesh Bank has asked the banks to operate on a limited scale until further notice.

Banks will remain open from 9:30am to 1:30pm to facilitate the financial transactions, said a notification of the central bank today.

However, the bank authorities are allowed to conduct internal official activities until 3pm.

Earlier, the Cabinet Division requested  the Bangladesh Bank to keep banking services open during lockdown.

The instruction came a day after the central bank issued a circular asking to keep regular banking service closed in line with the government restrictions, imposed for seven days from 14-21 April.

On Monday, the Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification to keep all government and private offices, including the financial institutions, closed during the lockdown.

Following that notification, the central bank decided to keep banking services closed during the weeklong lockdown.