Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostakur Rahman said that during the previous Sheikh Hasina government, Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC was run loyally to a specific party and group. However, in the current situation, the bank no longer has the opportunity to be run in the interests of any group, party or family.
From now on, the bank will have to be run in a professional and transparent management by following the rules.
The governor said these in a meeting held at Bangladesh Bank on Monday (March 16) with the chairman of Islami Bank, four board members and the bank's top officials. An official present at the meeting confirmed the matter.
In the meeting, the governor said that Islami Bank was once one of the strongest and most reputable banks in the country. But later, there was a lack of good governance in the management of the bank, which negatively affected the image and financial condition of the bank.
He said that Bangladesh Bank will continue to provide necessary support to restore the normal operations and financial status of the bank.
Recently, several thousand dismissed officials of Islami Bank staged a sit-in program in front of Bangladesh Bank demanding their reinstatement. It is known that these officials were mainly recruited from a specific area of Chittagong.
However, sources present at the meeting said that the governor did not comment on this issue in the meeting.
According to Islami Bank sources, by the end of last year, the bank's total deposits stood at about Tk183,000 crore. In 2025, the bank's deposits increased by about Tk22,000 crore.
The bank's agent banking activities have also seen significant growth. Currently, the deposits in this sector stands at about Tk22,000 crore, which is about Tk5,000 crore more than the previous year.
In the last one year, the bank has collected about Tk76,000 crore in expatriate income. At the same time, the bank's import trade volume was about Tk60,000 crore and the export trade volume was about Tk32,000 crore.
Currently, the number of customers of Islami Bank has reached about 30 million. Of these, about 5 million new customers have been added in the last one year.
According to the bank's financial report, the amount of defaulted loans of Islami Bank was about Tk106,000 crore at the end of September last year, which is about 58% of the total loans. However, the bank was able to reduce the defaulted loans by about Tk14,159 crore in the last three months of the year.
As a result, the amount of defaulted loans of the bank currently stands at about Tk92,115 crore, which is about 47% of the total loans.
Meanwhile, the governor ordered the IT integration of Sammilito Islami Bank, which consists of five weak Shariah-based banks, to be completed quickly.
The governor said that as part of the banking sector reforms, there is no option but to complete the merger process quickly. When he asked why the IT integration of the banks was being delayed, the officials said that it was taking time to combine the separate data of the banks.
An official present at the meeting mentioned that rumors were being spread about whether the merger would continue. In response, the governor said that the government has already given Tk20,000 crore as capital to the new bank. In addition, Tk12,000 crore is being given to customers from the Deposit Insurance Fund. Therefore, the process must be completed as soon as possible and there is no chance of going back from the merger.
Earlier, on March 3, the Governor met with the administrators of Sammilito Islami Bank and assured them of completing the appointment of the MD soon. At the same time, he ordered to strengthen loan recovery and reopen the closed factories.