Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur on Sunday said that about Tk50,000 crore was withdrawn from Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC through a private family.
He mentioned: “Around Tk 50,000 crore was withdrawn from IBBPLC through a private family, which created a lot of pressure on the bank. Yet, people's trust in the bank remained unwavering.”
The governor said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the “Bangladesh Islamic Finance Summit 2025” held at Banani in the capital.
He also said that the central bank is working on formulating a modern Islamic banking law, where global best practices are being given importance.
The governor said: "Efficient auditing and strong good governance are essential for the sustainable development of the Islamic banking sector. Both Islamic and conventional banks must follow high-quality auditing standards to ensure transparency and accountability.
Mansur said that although the Islamic banking sector has faced some instability in recent times, the sector as a whole is still in a strong position and depositor confidence has started to return.
He said that the central bank has already taken various initiatives to restructure and restructure the troubled Islamic banks and positive results are being obtained.
Citing the example of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), the governor said that the bank, which once faced a severe liquidity crisis, has now stabilized and has achieved the highest deposit growth in the Islamic banking sector this year.
He further said that improved accounting, good governance and high-quality auditing processes are very important to put the country's Islamic banking sector on a sustainable and strong foundation.
Merger process begins
The governor also said that the central bank has already started the merger process to ensure the safety of Islamic banks facing liquidity crisis.
“Our main goal is to protect the interests of the defaulters. We want the balance sheets of Islamic banks to be stronger, the paid-up capital to increase and the boards of directors to be made up of competent and responsible individuals,” he said.
The governor hoped that through planned and well-governed development, the Islamic banking sector in Bangladesh would reach a stronger position.
“We want the Islamic banking sector to move forward sustainably and make a greater contribution to the country’s economy,” he added.
