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Published : 05 Nov 2025, 10:17 PM
Depositors at the five Islamic banks set for merger will be able to start withdrawing their money later this month, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur has announced.
At a press briefing at the central bank’s auditorium on Wednesday afternoon, the governor confirmed that the boards of the troubled banks had been dissolved due to “irregularities”.
He also declared that the shares of the five private Shariah-based banks had become “worthless.”
“There is no reason for concern now,” Mansur said. “Depositors who need money will be able to withdraw it. Those with deposits up to Tk 200,000 should not face any problems.”
He asked depositors with larger balances to be patient, pledging full repayment and market-rate profit distribution following the merger.
The government is overseeing the formation of a new Shariah-based bank by merging the five existing ones — First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank, EXIM Bank, and Social Islami Bank.
On Wednesday, the central bank issued letters to the five banks instructing them to dissolve their boards.
Announcing the move, the governor said the new combined entity would be under state ownership but would not be classified as a state-owned bank.
“Although this bank will be under government ownership, it will operate privately. It will not be a government bank, and its employees will not be considered government staff,” he said.
Mansur did not set a specific timeframe for completing the merger.
“It could take one year or two,” he said. “We are not specifying how long it will take, but as much time as needed will be given.”
Explaining the decision to write down the shares, Mansur said: “When calculating assets against the shares, they show negative values -- minus Tk 350, minus Tk 420 per share. We are not demanding money from the shareholders, though technically, they are in debt.”
“According to international standards, shareholders are responsible for their equity. Since the capital is negative, all shares will be valued at zero,” he added.
All five banks are listed on the stock market. Under Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) rules, shareholder approval is required for dissolution or closure, but in this case, no such approval is being sought.
Asked about potential legal challenges if shareholders take the matter to court, Mansur said: “The court will decide on legal issues. I won’t pass judgement on that. But banks are systemic institutions -- if one collapses, millions of families suffer.
“Around 7.5 million families are tied to these banks. The responsibility cannot rest on shareholders alone; that is not the practice anywhere in the world. Oversight lies with the regulator.”
He added that if any bank violates regulations, Bangladesh Bank must intervene. “It is our responsibility to take corrective action or impose penalties. We should have done it earlier.”
The governor made it clear that investors must bear their own risk. “For us, shareholders mean shareholders -- those who invest must take responsibility. The money is theirs; the profit is theirs; the loss is theirs. Neither Bangladesh Bank nor the government will bear that burden.”
“We are not recovering money from shareholders even though they have gone negative. In principle, we could have, but in the public interest, we are declaring the shares worthless,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh Bank officially launched the process of merging the five financially distressed banks.
In the first step, their boards were dissolved, and the managing directors were asked to resign.
Regarding ongoing operations, Mansur said: “The banks will continue conducting business -- including handling existing letters of credits-- under their current names until they are merged. They will gradually be integrated one by one.”
Each of the five banks now has an administrator and an assisting team appointed by Bangladesh Bank, all comprising central bank officials.
