BB pledges clean Islami Bank board after customers' 24-hour ultimatum
BB Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said an acceptable board of directors would be constituted shortly, stressing the bank's systemic importance to the country's financial sector.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) today (22 June) promised to form a new, qualified board for Islami Bank Bangladesh and warned that political interference would not be tolerated, after customers staged a sit-in outside its Dhaka headquarters demanding independent governance within 24 hours.
BB Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said an acceptable board of directors would be constituted shortly, stressing the bank's systemic importance to the country's financial sector.
"Islami Bank is a critical institution within the country's financial ecosystem. If this bank faces damage, it will trigger a severe negative spillover across the entire banking sector. No one will be allowed to play politics over the Islami Bank," said Khan.
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The statement came hours after members of the Islami Bank Shacheton Grahok Forum (Conscious Customers Forum) staged an intensive demonstration and sit-in program in front of the main entrance of Bangladesh Bank.
In the morning of the same day, the forum issued a 24-hour ultimatum for a full and independent board to be named, or else, the demonstrators warn of tougher action from Wednesday next if the deadline is not met.
Speaking at the demonstration, the Forum Convener Professor Nur Nabi Manik called for the exclusion of anyone linked to the controversial S Alam Group from the new board and demanded the reinstatement of original sponsors and shareholders who allegedly lost their stakes through state coercion in 2017.
"An acceptable, independent, and comprehensive board of directors consisting of honest, qualified, and experienced professionals must be constituted immediately through structural discussions with relevant stakeholders," Manik demanded.
The forum also sought a special tribunal to prosecute financial sector offenders, recovery of embezzled funds, confiscation of S Alam Group's local assets, and repeal of Section 18(A) of the Bank Company Act.
The leaders of the forum also demanded an immediate retraction of recent statements made in the national parliament by the Home Minister regarding Islami Bank, which they alleged provided a subtle hint of restoring control of the country's largest Shari'ah-based lender to the S Alam Group
The forum further called for the retraction of recent parliamentary remarks by the Home Minister, which it alleged hinted at returning the bank's control to S Alam Group.
Earlier on 16 June, the forum submitted a memorandum to the Governor of the central bank, pressing similar demands.
Bangladesh Bank dissolved Islami Bank's board on 13 June and appointed Executive Director Mohammad Zahir Hossain as interim overseer. The forum had submitted a memorandum to the BB Governor on 16 June 16.
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