Initiatives have been taken to form a completely neutral board of directors at Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, said its newly appointed administrator Mohammad Zahir Hossain.
He also assured customers that all types of services and transactions of the bank will remain normal and uninterrupted.
He said these things while talking to reporters after assuming office at the bank's head office on Monday (June 15).
The administrator said: "The process of forming a completely neutral and acceptable board of directors for Islami Bank is underway. I will serve as administrator for a limited period. Our goal is to take the bank to a stable position and hand over responsibility to a neutral board."
Addressing the bank's customers, depositors and investors, he said: “There is no opportunity to look back. There is no reason for customers to worry. The bank's operations are normal and all services will continue uninterrupted in the future.”
Earlier, Bangladesh Bank canceled the appointment of all members of the board of directors, including the chairman of Islami Bank, on Sunday.
At the same time, Bangladesh Bank's executive director Mohammad Zahir Hossain was appointed as the administrator in accordance with Section 47(3) of the Bank Companies Act, 1991.
A central bank notification said that as the administrator, he will exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the board of directors. This decision has been taken to ensure the interests of the bank, the protection of depositors and overall financial stability.
Various instability surrounds the leadership change in Islami Bank in recent times.
When the chairman of the bank Prof M Zubaidur Rahman, resigned on May 24, former deputy governor Md. Khurshid Alam was appointed as the new chairman. However, since that appointment, dissatisfaction has arisen among a section of officials, employees, shareholders and customers.
In continuation of this, a protest program has been held in front of the bank's head office for several days under the banner of 'Islami Bank Conscious Customer Forum'.
The protesters alleged that the appointment of a controversial person as the chairman has created a fear that the bank's reform activities will be hampered. Meanwhile, the pressure to withdraw deposits at the bank has increased significantly in recent times due to the uncertainty and crisis of confidence surrounding the appointment of the chairman.
Bangladesh Bank has already provided liquidity support of about Tk2,500 crore to Islami Bank to deal with the situation.