Sammilito Islamic Bank to begin disbursing depositors' money from Monday

Highlights:

• Initially, Tk200,000 can be withdrawn per bank, per depositor
• Phased repayment for deposits exceeding Tk200,000
• Exception applies to senior citizens (60+) and cancer patients
• Withdrawals can be made from the depositor's branch
• Multiple account holders allowed to withdraw from only one 
• Account holders in multiple banks may withdraw separately from each

The newly formed Sammilito Islamic Bank PLC is preparing to start refunding depositors of five troubled Islamic banks undergoing merger from Monday, Bangladesh Bank officials said.

In the initial phase, customers will be allowed to withdraw up to Tk200,000 from branches of the respective merged banks, with the funds disbursed from the Deposit Insurance Fund.

The banks currently under the merger process are First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, EXIM Bank, and Union Bank. Bangladesh Bank has already given final approval to the establishment of Combined Islamic Bank PLC, which will acquire the five distressed lenders.

A senior Bangladesh Bank official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that although there were complexities in operationalising the repayment mechanism, these have now been resolved. "We expect the banks to begin disbursing funds from Monday. Depositors will be able to withdraw the money from their respective bank branches," the official said.

However, if a depositor holds multiple accounts within the same bank, withdrawals will be permitted from only one account. If a customer has accounts across all five banks, they will be eligible to withdraw the specified amount separately from each bank.

According to central bank sources, depositors with balances exceeding Tk200,000 will be able to withdraw their money in phases under a declared repayment scheme. After withdrawing the initial Tk200,000, depositors may withdraw Tk100,000 every three months for up to two years. The restrictions will be relaxed for depositors aged over 60 and for cancer patients, who will be allowed to withdraw funds as needed.

Bangladesh Bank said the primary objective of the scheme is to restore depositor confidence and gradually stabilise the banking sector. The head office of Combined Islamic Bank PLC has been set up at Sena Kalyan Bhaban in the capital. The bank's paid-up capital has been fixed at Tk35,000 crore, of which the government will provide Tk20,000 crore, and Tk15,000 crore will come from the Deposit Insurance Fund. The authorised capital of the bank has been set at Tk40,000 crore.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank has directed that the shares of the five banks undergoing merger be written down to zero, citing negative asset values. The decision has been taken under the provisions of the Bank Resolution Ordinance.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the five banks together hold deposits worth Tk142,000 crore from around 7.5 million depositors. In contrast, total loans stand at Tk193,000 crore, a significant portion of which has become non-performing.

Data shows that First Security Islami Bank has 2.2 million depositors with balances of up to Tk100,000, holding a total of Tk2,502 crore. Another 149,456 depositors hold balances between Tk100,001 and Tk200,000, amounting to Tk2,201 crore.

At EXIM Bank, 1.28 million depositors have balances of up to Tk100,000, with total deposits of Tk1,202 crore. Another 86,158 depositors hold between Tk100,001 and Tk200,000, with deposits totalling Tk1,253 crore.

Social Islami Bank has 2.43 million depositors with balances of up to Tk100,000, holding Tk1,511 crore. A further 86,406 depositors in the Tk100,001-Tk200,000 bracket hold Tk2,255 crore.

Union Bank has 451,460 depositors with balances of up to Tk100,000, totalling Tk707 crore, while 36,912 depositors in the Tk100,001-Tk200,000 range hold Tk557 crore.

At Global Islami Bank, 455,421 depositors have balances of up to Tk100,000, amounting to Tk631 crore. Another 28,644 depositors in the Tk100,001-Tk200,000 category hold Tk428 crore.