The five merged Islami banks have filed 10,000 cases to recover defaulted loans. The cases were filed to protect depositors’ interests and recover funds tied up within the banks. Additional cases are in the process of being filed.
The information was disclosed at a meeting Thursday between Bangladesh Bank’s governor and the Bank Resolution Department (BRD) reviewing progress on loan recovery and restructuring efforts. Bangladesh Bank Assistant Spokesperson Shahriar Siddiqui confirmed the information.
The meeting reviewed progress on the merger and restructuring of the five banks, the reconstitution of their boards and management, human resources coordination, branch consolidation, and the integration of information technology and operational activities.
The meeting was told that, alongside conventional legal action, alternative settlement-based measures such as an exit policy and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) are also being used to recover defaulted loans, with initiatives under way to accelerate loan recovery and dispute resolution through these means.
A forensic audit aimed at identifying individuals involved in irregularities, corruption, loan fraud and asset misuse under the banks’ previous ownership and management is in its final stages.
Bangladesh Bank said several important steps have been taken over the past six months in restructuring the combined Islami Bank. The board has been reconstituted with a focus on independent directors. A chief executive officer (CEO) was appointed for the bank on July 16.
The necessary coordination of rank, responsibility and organizational structure for roughly 16,000 officers and staff has also been finalized. Work is also progressing on integrating the five banks’ operations under a unified framework, including consolidating information technology infrastructure such as the core banking system (CBS), SWIFT and RMS. In addition, a common interface has been completed so that depositors can withdraw their deposits from any branch of the five banks.
The notice said that, taking into account branch locations, business potential, customer service and operating costs, work is under way to merge, reorganize and consolidate the operations of 780 branches and 1,500 business units.
Bangladesh Bank said the BRD is regularly reviewing progress on the combined Islami Bank’s restructuring, loan recovery, case settlement, human resource management, branch and business unit consolidation, and technical integration.
The central bank said these initiatives will improve the bank’s governance and operational efficiency, accelerate loan recovery, and reduce operating costs — while also making it possible to redirect the bank’s tied-up funds back into productive sectors.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report