How one clause in Islami Bank's HR policy allowed hiring of thousands without open competition

Thousands of officers were recruited to Islami Bank Bangladesh during the seven years S Alam Group controlled it – without national newspaper advertisements, written tests, or, in many cases, even oral interviews – under the Awami League regime.

From 2017, when S Alam took control of the bank, until August 2024, a total of 10,832 officers were recruited, according to reports by Bangladesh Bank and four audit firms. Of them, 8,542 were appointed without any advertisement in national dailies.

The bank's recruitment policy was amended to legitimise the process.

Policy clause that opened floodgates

Audit reports say the bank amended its human resources policy to legitimise the recruitment process. Clause 7.04 of the policy stated, "In case of exigency, the Managing Director & CEO of the Bank may appoint manpower…relaxing the above recruitment formalities."

Using this clause, regular recruitment practices – such as public advertisements, written tests, and competitive selection – were largely ignored.

Instead, an informal system was introduced to collect CVs.

Boxes labelled "General," "Cash," "Male," "Female," "Diploma," and other categories were reportedly placed at the group chairman's residence in Patiya and an office in Asadganj, Chattogram.

Applicants submitted CVs into these boxes, from where selected applications were sent to the bank's head office.

Appointment letters were then issued directly according to prepared lists, without open competition.

Audit sources described the system as a "closed recruitment loop," making participation by outside candidates virtually impossible.