Shahjalal Islami Bank sponsor keeps repaying loans with shares
Representatives of Mohammed Hasan, whose businesses have been dying due to his poor health, are repaying his bank loans by giving away Shahjalal Islami Bank shares in tranches.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has approved a plan for off-platform transfer of 24.5 lakh Shahjalal Islami Bank shares from the account of the bank's sponsor Mohammed Hasan to the Mercantile Bank Ltd, which lent him money.
Earlier, in June 2021, the bourse approved a transfer of 49 lakh Shahjalal Islami Bank shares from the same sponsor's account to the Mercantile Bank.
Shahjalal Islami Bank's Company Secretary Md Abul Bashar did not respond to a request for comments in this regard.
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A director of the bank said Mohammed Hasan has been settling his bank liabilities since the 2017-18 fiscal year by giving away the sponsor shares in trenches.
Hasan, a successful businessman and a sponsor of the Shariah-compliant bank, has been suffering from chronic illness that has left him bedridden for years.
Neither Hasan nor his heirs were able to maintain his businesses that included perfumes, healthcare facilities and other products, so his bank loans defaulted, said a director of the bank on condition of anonymity.
The miserable condition of Mohammed Hasan came into discussion in 2017 when the DSE suddenly found that out of his 2.32 crore Shahjalal Islami Bank shares, 56 lakh were sold off without any prior announcement, which is required when a listed company's sponsor or director wants to buy or sell shares.
Later, it was found that a bank forcefully sold off the shares to recover their money from Hasan who was not even in a position to discuss the matter with anyone.
In 2018, Mohammed Hasan transferred 25.69 lakh Shahjalal Islami Bank shares to the Social Islami Bank, one of his creditors.
Meanwhile, in 2017, he obtained more than 53 lakh Shahjalal Islami Bank shares from his deceased family member Alhaj Mohammad Farooq, who used to own 1.84 crore shares of the bank.
Once Mohammed Hasan used to own 3% of the Shahjalal Islami Bank, but his stake has been declining since 2017.
Shahjalal Islami Bank shares closed at Tk22.1 each on Tuesday in the DSE.
