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Published : 14 Jun 2026, 04:21 PM
Amid an ongoing liquidity crisis, Bangladesh Bank has issued a special loan of Tk 25 billion to Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.
The loan was granted on Sunday. Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, assistant spokesperson and director of the central bank, told bdnews24.com: "Tk 25 billion was loaned."
At the post-budget press conference on Friday at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman said in reference to Islami Bank: "Bangladesh Bank has some rules and regulations, some tools. We will use those tools. We will provide liquidity support. Depositors will not face any difficulties in the next few days. They can withdraw their deposits freely at any time. There will be no problem on the matter.’’
He said, “I do not think there will be any problem with the Islamic banks. Because the management of Islamic banks is doing and will do those things according to the rules.”
In July 2024, the investment-deposit ratio (ID ratio) of Islamic banks was 93 percent. Last March, it went above 97, and is now nearing 98 percent.
Highlighting this information, the governor said, “We ask them to reduce it. The maximum AD ratio in Islamic banks is 92 percent.”
A Sharia-based bank can invest a maximum of Tk 92 against a deposit of Tk 100. The remaining 8 taka has to be kept with the central bank as Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). In the case of conventional banks, the ID ratio is 87 percent.
Commenting that there has been no interference in Islamic banks, Mostaqur said: “Social media has heated up with claims that the government is illegally interfering (in Islamic banks). We did not interfere. We did not ask for any loan, or for anyone to be transferred. We did not ask for anyone's promotion.
"A complaint is being raised in various places, including Facebook, that illegal interference is being carried out at Islami Bank. Many people assume something to be true if it is repeated enough times."
Under the interim government, a board was formed for Islami Bank. When allegations of irregularities were raised against one of the directors, he was replaced, the governor said at a press conference.
The day before Eid, a protest rally was held in front of Islami Bank demanding the resignation of the chairman. The chairman resigned that afternoon.
The last working day before Eid ul-Azha was May 24. That day was the date set for the previously scheduled board meeting for the bank.
In the morning, former managing director Omar Faruk Khan, who was on leave, was blocked from entering the bank. A rally by protesting customers demanded that the board compulsorily remove Omar Faruk Khan as soon as he entered the bank.
Omar Faruk's last day of leave was May 24. Later, he sent his resignation letter online. Zubaidur Rahman resigned from the post of chairman.
On that day, the central bank selected former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Khurshid Alam as the new chairman.
Highlighting these developments, the governor said at a post-budget press conference: "What has happened now is that a slogan has been raised since the morning before Eid - they are demanding the resignation of the chairman.
"The chairman at the time then resigned in the afternoon (May 24). So, naturally, since there is a board of five people here, and in a systemic bank, the board cannot function without this minimum of five people. As a result, we have to make an appointment immediately."
He said, "We make appointments quickly. Since then, I have seen that there has been an attempt to destabilise the bank.
Following the Eid holidays, a protest movement has been continuing in the name of the Islami Bank Conscious Customer Forum, which opposes the appointment of the current chairman and demands his resignation.
Due to these protests, the amount of deposits withdrawn from the bank has exceeded Tk 30 billion. The issue has also sparked a storm of debate in Parliament.
On Jun 10, Islami Bank sought liquidity support of Tk 100 billion from the central bank due to its cash crisis. Under the circumstances, the governor appointed Ashraful Alam, the executive director of the central bank, as an observer at Islami Bank on the same day.
