STAR BUSINESS REPORT

Bangladesh Bank-appointed administrators yesterday took charge of five shariah-based banks slated for merger as part of a resolution process aimed at restoring governance and strengthening accountability in the troubled lenders.

The five banks are First Security Islami Bank PLC (FSIBL), Social Islami Bank PLC (SIBL), EXIM Bank of Bangladesh PLC, Global Islami Bank PLC, and Union Bank PLC. Except for EXIM Bank, all the other four were under the control of Mohammed Saiful Islam, owner of conglomerate S Alam Group, who reportedly borrowed large amounts from these banks using companies that exist only on paper.

As part of the central bank’s move, the managing directors (MDs) and CEOs of SIBL and Union Bank were forced to resign yesterday. With this, the MDs and CEOs of all five banks have lost their jobs since last year.

Contacted, SIBL MD Shafiuzzaman told The Daily Star yesterday that the central bank asked them to resign as the banking regulator took over the bank under the Bank Resolution Ordinance 2025.

“I submitted my resignation letter to the administrator, and today is my last working day,” he said.

Shafiuzzaman had replaced Zafar Alam as the bank’s MD in March this year after the reconstitution of the bank’s board.

Meanwhile, Mohd Humayun Kabir, MD and CEO of Union Bank, also confirmed that he had submitted his resignation letter to the administrator yesterday.

He was appointed to the post in March this year after the bank’s previous MD, ABM Mokammel Hoque Chowdhury, resigned and fled the